Immunizers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Agents or entities that provoke an immune response in order to protect against specific pathogens
2. Individuals or substances that enhance the body's immunity by inducing a protective response against certain diseases
3. Substances or factors that trigger the body's defense system to build protection against infections

Etymology: "Immunizer" is a plain agent noun: the suffix "-er" (denoting a person or thing that performs an action) attached to the verb "immunize." That verb comes from "immune," which entered English in the 1400s from Latin "immunis," meaning "exempt from public service or duties," built from "in-" (not) and "munis" (serving, bound to duty). The legal sense of exemption came first; the biological sense of resistance to disease developed much later, in the 19th century. "Immunize" itself was formed in the late 1800s, once "immune" had acquired its medical meaning, and it became standard after Louis Pasteur's work on vaccines and the germ theory of disease. The plural "immunizers" simply denotes more than one such agent, so the word's history is that of the verb and the suffix combined.

Synonyms: vaccinators, inoculators, protectors, defenders, shielders

Antonyms: exposers, vulnerators, weakeners, hazarders, threateners