Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

antibacterial

/ˌæntibæktˈɪɹiəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.89 in modern English

Syllables: an-tibac-te-ri-al
IPA: /ˌæntibæktˈɪɹiəl/

17

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

6

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Killing or inhibiting bacteria.

adj

Opposing the theory that diseases are caused by bacteria.

Archaic

noun

A drug having the effect of killing or inhibiting bacteria.

Example Sentences

"This drug has an antibacterial effect."
"Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction."
"Many household products contain antibacterials."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ντῐ́ (ăntĭ́) Ancient Greek ἀντι- (anti-)der. English anti- Ancient Greek βακτηρία (baktēría) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos)? Ancient Greek -ιον (-ion) Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion)bor. New Latin bactēriabor. English bacteria English -al English bacterial English antibacterial From anti- + bacterial.

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

antibacterials (plural)

Derived Forms

antibacterially nonantibacterial

Frequently Paired Words

antibiotic antimicrobial antiseptic antiviral

Synonyms

antibacterial drug bactericide

Rhymes With

material imperial cereal bacterial managerial arterial ethereal immaterial venereal biomaterial

Questions

How do you pronounce antibacterial?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌæntibæktˈɪɹiəl/.
What does antibacterial mean?: Killing or inhibiting bacteria.
Where does antibacterial come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ντῐ́ (ăntĭ́) Ancient Greek ἀντι- (anti-)der. English anti- Ancient Greek βακτηρία (baktēría) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos)? Ancient Greek -ιον (-ion) Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion)bor. New Latin bactēriabor. English bacteria English -al English bacterial English antibacterial From anti- + bacterial.

How to pronounce antibacterial

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌæntibæktˈɪɹiəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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