Meaning & use
anabiotic
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Able to return to normal life and activity after a period in which all signs of life were suspended.
Grammar: Describes organisms or their cells; almost always before a noun.
Patterns
- anabiotic organisms
- anabiotic state
Some microscopic animals enter an anabiotic state when their pond dries out.
Anabiotic organisms can survive extreme dehydration for years and then revive.
Common combinations
- anabiotic state
- The tardigrade falls into an anabiotic state when conditions become hostile.
- anabiotic organisms
- Anabiotic organisms challenge our definitions of what it means to be alive.
- anabiotic survival
- Anabiotic survival allows certain larvae to endure freezing temperatures.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cryptobiotic
- Covers hidden or reduced life states generally, including anabiosis and hibernation-like states.
- dormant
- Everyday word for inactive living things, but it does not mean life signs were fully absent.
Word family
Commonly confused: anabiotic or antibiotic?
anabiotic vs antibiotic
Antibiotics are medicines that kill bacteria; anabiotic describes organisms that can revive after dormancy. The words sound alike but are unrelated in meaning.
Practice
An anabiotic organism is one that can ___.
Choose one answer.
Anabiotic means able to return to active life after metabolic activity was suspended. The other options describe photosynthesis, halophily, and parasitism, which are different biological features.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “anabiotic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.