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mithridatism

American

[mith-ri-dey-tiz-uhm] / ˈmɪθ rɪˌdeɪ tɪz əm /

noun

the production of immunity against the action of a poison by taking the poison in gradually increased doses.

mithridatism British

/ -ˈdeɪ-, ˌmɪθrɪˈdætɪk, ˈmɪθrɪdeɪˌtɪzəm /

noun

immunity to large doses of poison by prior ingestion of gradually increased doses

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

mithridatic adjective

Etymology

Origin of mithridatism

1850–55; after Mithridates VI ( def. ), said to have so immunized himself; -ism

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“One more thing. Do you know what mithridatism is?”

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

The old notion as to "mithridatism" was that an animal or a man would have to be separately prepared and "immunised" by habituation for every distinct kind of poison.

From More Science From an Easy Chair by Lankester, E. Ray (Edwin Ray), Sir

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023