What does "agglutination" mean?
The act of uniting by glue or other tenacious substance; the state of being thus united; adhesion of parts.
Agglutination
/əˌɡluːtɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of uniting by glue or other tenacious substance; the state of being thus united; adhesion of parts.
- Grammar: agglutination is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: accession, accretion, addition, adherence.
- Useful contrasts: disaggregation, dispersal, dissociation.
- Usage evidence: Someone with type A blood would not be able to get a transfusion of type B blood, because the recipient's type B antibodies would react with the antigens in the type B blood and cause agglutination.
How to use "agglutination"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "agglutination" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "agglutination" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "agglutination" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of uniting by glue or other tenacious substance; the state of being thus united; adhesion of parts. countable, uncountable
- 2 the building of words from component morphemes that retain their form and meaning in the process of combining wordnet
- 3 Combination in which root words are united with little or no change of form or loss of meaning. See agglutinative. countable, uncountable
- 4 a clumping of bacteria or red cells when held together by antibodies (agglutinins) wordnet
- 5 The clumping together of red blood cells or bacteria, usually in response to a particular antibody. countable, uncountable
"It may resemble the factor 5 in Salmonella, a heat-labile determinant on the endotoxin molecule which, because of its superficial location, blocks the agglutination reaction of the deeper heat-stable O antigens in the same way as do the Vi and K antigens."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 the coalescing of small particles that are suspended in solution; these larger masses are then (usually) precipitated wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"Someone with type A blood would not be able to get a transfusion of type B blood, because the recipient's type B antibodies would react with the antigens in the type B blood and cause agglutination."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "agglutination"?
Common synonyms include: accession, accretion, addition, adherence, adhesion, adjunct.
How do you use "agglutination" in a sentence?
Someone with type A blood would not be able to get a transfusion of type B blood, because the recipient's type B antibodies would react with the antigens in the type B blood and cause agglutination.
How do you pronounce "agglutination"?
Pronounced /əˌɡluːtɪˈneɪ.ʃən/.
Etymology
Multiple origins. The oldest usage, in relation to tissues adhering or healing in medical contexts, appears in the 16th century, from French agglutination. The linguistic sense derived from this usage during the early 19th century. The sense of gluing or cementing objects together in other contexts is from New Latin agglutinatio, from Latin agglūtinō (“glue; fasten to”) + -iō (a suffix used to form nouns). Compare Spanish aglutinación (“uniting; (linguistic) agglutination”), French agglutiner (“to paste together”, verb), and German Agglutination (“(linguistic) agglutination”) and Agglutinierung (“(biological) adhering, clumping”).