parenteral

[ pa-ren-ter-uhl ]

/ pæˈrɛn tər əl /

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adjective Anatomy, Medicine/Medical, Physiology.

taken into the body in a manner other than through the digestive canal.

not within the intestine; not intestinal.

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THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of parenteral

First recorded in 1905–10; par- + enter- + -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM parenteral

par·en·ter·al·ly, adverb

Words nearby parenteral

parental home, parental leave, parent cell, parent company, parent compound, parenteral, parentheses, parenthesis, parenthesize, parenthetical, parenthetically

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use parenteral in a sentence

The recovery of poliomyelitis virus after parenteral introduction into cockroaches and houseflies.
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches|Louis M. Roth

British Dictionary definitions for parenteral

parenteral

/ (pæˈrɛntərəl) /

adjective med

(esp of the route by which a drug is administered) by means other than through the digestive tract, esp by injection

designating a drug to be injected

Derived forms of parenteral

parenterally, adverb

Word Origin for parenteral

C20: from para- 1 + entero- + -al 1

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