inoculation

[ ih-nok-yuh-ley-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of inoculating.
2. an instance of inoculating.

inoculation

/ ĭ-nŏk′yə-lā′shən /

1. The introduction of a serum, a vaccine, or an antigenic substance into the body of a person or an animal, especially as a means to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease.
2. The introduction of a microorganism or an agent of disease into an host organism or a growth medium.

inoculation

1. The introduction of an antigen into the body, usually by injection, in order to stimulate the production of antibodies to produce immunity to an infectious disease . ( See immunization .)

Other Words From

• nonin·ocu·lation noun
• postin·ocu·lation adjective
• rein·ocu·lation noun
• self-in·ocu·lation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inoculation¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin inoculātiōn- (stem of inoculātiō ) an engrafting. See inoculate, -ion

Example Sentences

Imperial College London is also working on an experimental inoculation.

From Fortune

And, as newsreels of the day made clear, they’d all been early test subjects for the inoculation.

From Ozy

He argues that the Stat scoop also underscores the importance of the press in serving as an additional check on the vaccine race, especially as inoculations are developed and tested in countries with little government transparency or accountability.

From Fortune

Yin said the distribution of the vaccine to Sinovac workers and their families occurred under China’s emergency-use vaccine program, a government policy that allows specific populations of people to receive unproven inoculations.

From Fortune

Some rare adverse reactions to the inoculations may only show up once the vaccines have been studied in a large, diverse population.

From Fortune

Romney says this policy is aimed at helping middle-income Americans, but there is clearly an element of self-inoculation here.

From The Daily Beast

Shouting now is also an inoculation against embarrassment later.

From The Daily Beast

Instead, Kennedy took the punch-line for himself and applied the loud laughs he earned as an inoculation against a poisonous idea.

From The Daily Beast

Tubercle bacilli are nearly always present, although animal inoculation may be necessary to detect them.

From Project Gutenberg

It has been shown that the quantity of opsonins in the blood can be greatly increased by inoculation with dead bacteria.

From Project Gutenberg

British house of commons voted Dr. Jenner 10,000 for his discovery of the vaccine inoculation.

From Project Gutenberg

Probably the general introduction of inoculation first occasioned the discovery.

From Project Gutenberg

In some other points of view, the inoculation of this disease appears preferable to the variolous inoculation.

From Project Gutenberg

Inoculation Vs. Vaccination Vs. Immunization

What’s the difference between inoculation, vaccination, and immunization?

In the context of medicine, the words inoculation, vaccination, and immunization are often used in overlapping ways, and for good reason—they all involve the process of introducing a substance (especially a vaccine) into a person’s body with the goal of preventing them from getting a particular disease.

Vaccination is the most specific of the three terms, because it always involves introducing a vaccine, which usually consists of a small amount of a killed, weakened, or otherwise modified version of a disease (such as a virus or bacterium). While inoculation has other meanings outside the context of medicine, in modern healthcare it’s typically used interchangeably with vaccination (though it’s used less commonly).

Immunization is slightly different—it refers to the process of providing immunity from a specific disease. While the goal of vaccinating someone is often to immunize them, not all vaccines provide permanent immunity. Some vaccines provide what amounts to long-term immunity, while others only lead to a temporary protection, after which the body “forgets” how to make certain antibodies. In these cases, a booster shot or dose is often required, consisting of a follow-up vaccination to boost or renew the protection gained from the earlier vaccination.

Both vaccination and inoculation can refer to a shot or dose, as opposed to the process of providing or receiving such doses, as in I’m scheduled to get a vaccination on Friday. The word immunization can be used in the same way to refer to such a vaccination when it’s one that provides immunity, as in Have you received all of your immunizations?

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between inoculate, vaccinate, and immunize.

Quiz yourself on inoculation vs. vaccination vs. immunization!

True or False?

The words inoculation, vaccination, and immunization can be correctly used in some overlapping ways.