Meaning & use
inoculate
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Meanings
verbtransitivemedical
To give a person or animal a vaccine or weakened germ so that the body builds protection against a disease.
Grammar: Takes an object and often against: inoculate children against measles.
Patterns
- inoculate someone against something
- inoculate someone with something
Nurses inoculated the children against measles before the school year.
Farmers inoculate their sheep against common infections.
Doctors inoculated the whole town during the outbreak.
verbtransitivefigurative
To protect someone from an idea or harmful influence by early exposure to it.
Grammar: A figurative use, with against: inoculate people against false claims.
Patterns
- inoculate someone against something
Media classes help inoculate teenagers against online scams.
Teaching critical thinking can inoculate voters against propaganda.
The early failure inoculated her against fear of risk.
verbtransitivetechnicalbiology
To introduce microorganisms or cells into a growth medium, soil or tissue for a laboratory or farming purpose.
Grammar: Scientific use: inoculate a dish with bacteria.
Patterns
- inoculate something with something
The student inoculated the agar plate with a sample of bacteria.
Farmers inoculate bean seeds with helpful bacteria to boost growth.
Word forms
| third person singular | inoculates |
|---|---|
| past tense | inoculated |
| past participle | inoculated |
| -ing form | inoculating |
Common combinations
- inoculate against
- Clinics inoculate infants against several illnesses.
- inoculate with a vaccine
- The team inoculated volunteers with a test vaccine.
- inoculated against
- Are you inoculated against tetanus?
- inoculate livestock
- Ranchers inoculate livestock each spring.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vaccinate
- Vaccinate is the everyday word, while inoculate is slightly older or more technical and can include non-vaccine methods.
- immunize
- Immunize focuses on making someone immune, whatever the method.
- inject
- Inject describes putting liquid in with a needle, with no suggestion of building protection.
Word family
- inoculation noun
- The act of giving a vaccine or introducing a culture.
- inoculum noun
- The material, such as microbes, used to inoculate.
- inoculant noun
- A substance used to inoculate, especially in farming.
- uninoculated adjective
- Not given an inoculation.
Commonly confused: inoculate or innocuous? inoculate or vaccinate?
inoculate vs innocuous
Innocuous means harmless. It looks like inoculate but means something completely different.
inoculate vs vaccinate
Vaccinate and inoculate are used almost interchangeably today, though inoculate can also cover older methods.
Practice
The clinic will ___ all of the staff against the flu this week.
Choose one answer.
Inoculate against means protect with a vaccine. Innovate, insulate and incubate have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “inoculate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.