Underdosed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The condition characterized by receiving less medication than needed for optimal effectiveness is often critical in medical settings
2. Receiving a quantity of medication that is too low to achieve the intended therapeutic result
3. Having an amount of a drug administered that fails to meet the necessary level for proper treatment

Etymology: The prefix "under-" meaning "insufficiently" has been part of English since Old English, so "underdose" is a transparent formation: "under-" attached to "dose," the portion of medicine given to a patient. The verb was built by analogy with "overdose," which was already in use, so the pair mirrors each other, one describing too much of a drug and the other too little. "Underdosed" is the form of that verb used to describe a patient who has received less of a drug than is needed to work. The adjective sense follows directly from the verb, and it is most often applied to antibiotics, anticoagulants and other medicines where an insufficient amount can allow an illness to persist or a resistant strain to develop.

Synonyms: insufficiently dosed, subtherapeutic, under-administered, inadequately treated, low-dosage

Antonyms: overdosed, sufficiently dosed, therapeutic, adequately treated, high-dosage