PsychologyAugust 10, 2026

inoculations

in-ok-yu-LAY-shunz

Definition

The act or process of injecting a vaccine into a person or animal to provide immunity against a disease.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'inoculare,' meaning to graft, as in grafting a bud into a plant. The term was later applied to medical practice to describe the introduction of a pathogen into the body to stimulate immunity.

In the news

The article uses the term to describe the vaccines that protect children against diseases, noting the administration's attempts to reduce the number of these preventative injections currently recommended.

Trump issues executive order aimed at rewriting childhood vaccine schedule

Read the full article ↗

Scientific American

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