inoculation

/ɪˌnɑkjəˈleɪʃən/

Other forms: inoculations

That shot the doctor gave you was an inoculation — that is, a preventative measure against disease. Inoculation is also known as "vaccination."

Inoculation is a fancy word from the Latin term inoculationem, meaning "engrafting" or "budding." That is exactly what an inoculation is — the grafting of a milder form of some horrible disease in you that will prevent you from getting a far nastier version. Inoculation and its various forms has also taken on a metaphorical meaning of being protected against something, as in the American politician Alan K. Simpson's quote that "an educated man is thoroughly inoculated against humbug."

Definitions of inoculation

1. noun

   taking a vaccine as a precaution against contracting a disease
   synonyms: vaccination

   type of:

   immunisation, immunization

   the act of making immune (especially by inoculation)