conjugate

American  

[kon-juh-geyt, kon-juh-git, -geyt] / ˈkɒn dʒəˌgeɪt, ˈkɒn dʒə gɪt, -ˌgeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• conjugates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conjugated,
  past participle,  past
• conjugating
  present participle

1. Grammar.

   1. to inflect (a verb).

   2. to recite or display all or some subsets of the inflected forms of (a verb), in a fixed order.

      One conjugates the present tense of the verb “be” as “I am, you are, he is, we are, you are, they are.”

2. to join together, especially in marriage.

---

verb (used without object)

• conjugates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conjugated,
  past participle,  past
• conjugating
  present participle

1. Biology. to unite; to undergo conjugation.

2. Grammar. to be characterized by conjugation.

   The Latin verb esse does not conjugate in the passive voice.

adjective

1. joined together, especially in a pair or pairs; coupled.

2. Botany. (of a pinnate leaf ) having only one pair of leaflets.

3. Grammar. (of words) having a common derivation.

4. Bibliography. (of two leaves in a book) forming one sheet.

5. Mathematics.

   1. (of two points, lines, etc.) so related as to be interchangeable in the enunciation of certain properties.

   2. (of an element) so related to a second element of a group that there exists a third element of the group that, multiplying one element on the right and the other element on the left, results in equal elements.

   3. (of two complex numbers) differing only in the sign of the imaginary part.

6. Chemistry.

   1. of or noting two or more liquids in equilibrium with one another.

   2. (of an acid and a base) related by the loss or gain of a proton.

      NH3 is a base conjugate to NH4+.

      NH4+ is an acid conjugate to NH3.

   3. Also conjugated. (of an organic compound) containing two or more double bonds each separated from the other by a single bond.

noun

1. one of a group of conjugate words.

2. Mathematics.

   1. either of two conjugate points, lines, etc.

   2. Also called conjugate complex number.  Also called complex conjugate,.  either of a pair of complex numbers of the type a + bi and a − bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is imaginary.

conjugate British  

verb

1. (tr) grammar to inflect (a verb) systematically; state or set out the conjugation of (a verb)

2. (intr) (of a verb) to undergo inflection according to a specific set of rules

3. (tr) to join (two or more substances) together, esp in such a way that the resulting substance may easily be turned back into its original components

4. (intr) biology to undergo conjugation

5. obsolete (tr) to join together, esp in marriage

---

adjective

1. joined together in pairs; coupled

2. (Maths)

   1. (of two angles) having a sum of 360°

   2. (of two complex numbers) differing only in the sign of the imaginary part as 4 + 3i and 4 – 3i

   3. (of two algebraic numbers) being roots of the same irreducible algebraic equation with rational coefficients

      3 ± 2 √2 are conjugate algebraic numbers, being roots of x² – 6x + 1

   4. (of two elements of a square matrix) interchanged when the rows and columns are interchanged

   5. (of two arcs) forming a complete circle or other closed curved figure

3. chem of, denoting, or concerning the state of equilibrium in which two liquids can exist as two separate phases that are both solutions. The liquid that is the solute in one phase is the solvent in the other

4. another word for conjugated

5. chem (of acids and bases) related by loss or gain of a proton

   Cl–is the conjugate base of HCl

   HCl is the conjugate acid of Cl–

6. physics

   1. joined by a reciprocal relationship, such as in the case of two quantities, points, etc, that are interchangeable with respect to the properties of each of them

   2. (of points connected with a lens) having the property that an object placed at one point will produce an image at the other point

7. (of a compound leaf) having one pair of leaflets

8. (of words) cognate; related in origin

noun

1. one of a pair or set of conjugate substances, values, quantities, words, etc

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• conjugateness
  noun
• conjugator
  noun
• misconjugate
  verb
• conjugable
  adjective
• conjugative
  adjective
• nonconjugate
  adjective
• unconjugated
  adjective
• conjugably
  adverb
• conjugately
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• conjugating
  present
• conjugated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• conjugate
  simple
• conjugates
  simple
• have conjugated
  perfect
• has conjugated
  perfect
• am conjugating
  progressive
• are conjugating
  progressive
• is conjugating
  progressive
• have been conjugating
  perfect progressive
• has been conjugating
  perfect progressive

Past

• conjugated
  simple
• had conjugated
  perfect
• was conjugating
  progressive
• were conjugating
  progressive
• had been conjugating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will conjugate
  simple
• will have conjugated
  perfect
• will be conjugating
  progressive
• will have been conjugating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of conjugate

1425–75; late Middle English (adj.) < Latin conjugātus (past participle of conjugāre to yoke together), equivalent to con- con- + jug ( um ) yoke ¹ + -ātus -ate ¹

Explanation

Conjugate is what you do to a word to make it agree with other words in a sentence. If you’ve studied a foreign language, you know that sometimes you can conjugate a verb just by changing its endings. To conjugate the verb to be, you’d say “I am,” “you are,” “she is,” and so on. You’re changing the form of the verb to make it agree with the subject. You might conjugate other words to make them agree in number, gender, or tense. In chemistry, conjugate means "to join together." It can also be an adjective, meaning "joined," or "joined in pairs," like the conjugate leaf of an Oak tree.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conjugate conjugates conjugated conjugating

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets say the Tubulis acquisition represents a strategically sound bolt-on that addresses Gilead’s oncology pipeline growth needs while securing differentiated next-generation antibody-drug conjugate platform capabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

One of ImmuNext’s products was an antibody-drug conjugate that delivers glucocorticoids to immune cells to treat autoimmune diseases.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

Imperfect trial results for its a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, VAX-24, in infants sent the stock spiraling by 46% on March 31 alone.

From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025

GalNAc conjugate therapies, which attach siRNA molecules to the ligand to deliver therapies inside cells, are already on the market for conditions such as hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2024

He’s my literature and linguistics teacher, and he’s currently trying to teach me how to conjugate basic Kushoto verbs.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

The antibody-drug conjugates deliver chemotherapy directly to tumor cells, reducing disease progression risk by around 40% vs. chemo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

Sac-TMT is just one of the antibody-drug conjugates Merck is developing in collaboration with Kelun-Biotech.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

The deal will expand Gilead’s capabilities in antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, which deliver powerful chemotherapies to cancerous cells without harming nearby cells.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

To overcome this obstacle, Shen's laboratory developed a new strategy to analyze the full range of CoA conjugates in cells.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2026

But instead I watch as she conjugates verbs.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Finally, milk contains conjugated linoleic acid, a fatty acid found in meat and dairy products, which, according to a 2021 labratory study, could also have anti-cancer properties.

From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2025

Such conjugated vaccines are known to induce a stronger T cell immune response, generally leading to better and longer lasting protection.

From Science Magazine ● Feb. 27, 2024

However, processing conjugated polymers often requires environmentally hazardous, toxic, and flammable solvents.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 22, 2024

Maybe that’s because in Chinese, my first language, verbs aren’t conjugated.

From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2022

Buckminster curled up next to me, and I conjugated for a while so I wouldn’t have to think about things.

From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer

A particularly surprising finding was that some of the strongest effectors for targeted protein degradation were E2 conjugating enzymes, instead of E3s.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 22, 2024

Worse, I get 47% one day, due to my apparent inability to follow simple instructions conjugating the imperfect.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 1, 2019

Their schedules may also include language courses, where conjugating verbs and learning proper syntax, for example, can’t be considered an ideological task.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2018

Those mind-numbing exercises in high school—factoring polynomials, conjugating verbs, memorizing the periodic table—were possibly the opposite: mind-sensitizing.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 27, 2017

A good letter could get you a position in the better cohorts, sometimes even special jobs like legion messenger, which made you exempt from the grunt work like digging ditches or conjugating Latin verbs.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan