Other forms: adjuvants
An adjuvant is something added to help boost effectiveness or facilitate a process. For example, in a vaccine, certain adjuvants help create a stronger and longer-lasting immune response to an antigen.
In medicine, adjuvants can be anything used to enhance the effectiveness or manageability of treatments, including things like pain medicines, or substances that protect healthy tissue when undergoing chemotherapy treatments. The word adjuvant is also used outside of medicine to name or describe anything or anyone that helps: An adjuvant added to a fungicide doesn't kill a fungus, but it helps the fungicide work better. A good study guide could be an adjuvant in preparing for a big test. Adjuvant comes from the Latin adjuvare, meaning "to help."