autoimmune
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of autoimmune
Explanation
When a condition or illness is described as autoimmune, it means the body's immune system is attacking the body's own cells or tissues. Lupus is one example of an autoimmune disease. Your immune system sends out antibodies to attack bacteria and viruses that shouldn't be in your body. When this system mistakenly attacks substances that are meant to be in your body, it can cause all kinds of problems — this is an autoimmune disorder. Autoimmune is a medical term that's been around since the 1950s, from auto-, "self," and immune, "exempt from a disease."
Vocabulary lists containing autoimmune
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: auto-
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: auto
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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.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks tissue around the joints, causing pain, swelling, stiffness, and potentially long-term damage.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
As I was recuperating, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, which meant he had to tap out indefinitely.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the synovium, the tissue that lines the joints.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026
She was admitted to hospital four days before her death with kidney and autoimmune issues.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
“I don’t know. It just happens to some people. That’s the way autoimmune diseases are.”
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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.
