Meaning & use
immunology
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedicalbiology
The scientific study of the immune system and how the body defends itself against disease.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun: 'She studies immunology,' not 'an immunology'.
Patterns
- study immunology
- in immunology
- professor of immunology
She decided to study immunology after her brother recovered from a rare infection.
Advances in immunology have led to better vaccines and cancer treatments.
He teaches immunology at the university medical school.
Common combinations
- clinical immunology
- Clinical immunology focuses on treating immune-related diseases in patients.
- molecular immunology
- Molecular immunology examines immune processes at the cellular level.
- professor of immunology
- She became a professor of immunology at a leading research institute.
Synonyms and how they differ
- immunobiology
- A broader term that includes the biology of the immune system, often used interchangeably but sometimes emphasizing biological mechanisms.
Word family
- immunologist noun
- A scientist or doctor who specializes in immunology.
- immunological adjective
- Relating to immunology or the immune system.
- immunologically adverb
- In a way that relates to immunology.
Commonly confused: immunology or virology?
immunology vs virology
Virology is the study of viruses, while immunology is the study of the immune system; they overlap but are distinct fields.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'immunology' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Immunology' is an uncountable noun, so it takes no article and has no plural form. Option 1 incorrectly adds 'an', option 2 uses a plural that does not exist, and option 3 uses 'the' when speaking generally.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “immunology”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.