oxidative
Americanadjective
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Chemistry. relating to, causing, resulting from, or involving oxidation, the process in which a substance is combined with oxygen.
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Biochemistry. relating to physical stress or cell damage caused by an excess of free radicals and an insufficiency of antioxidants in the body.
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.
The team identified proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation, the cellular process responsible for generating most of a cell's energy, as regular occupants of the nucleus.
From Science Daily • Mar. 9, 2026
The material activates two separate chemical reactions once inside a tumor cell, overwhelming it with oxidative stress while leaving surrounding healthy tissue unharmed.
From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026
"The result reinforces the potential of sunflower seed flour to promote health benefits associated with reducing oxidative stress," says Mesquita.
From Science Daily • Feb. 8, 2026
This included breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, damage to nerve fibers, chronic inflammation, reduced formation of new neurons in the hippocampus, weakened communication between brain cells, and extensive oxidative damage.
From Science Daily • Dec. 24, 2025
The charging of the battery, in which ADP and a free phosphate group are combined to restore ATP, is coupled to the oxidative process; the close linking is known as coupled phosphorylation.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
