polyvalent

[ pol-ee-vey-luhnt, puh-liv-uh-luhnt ]

adjective

1. Chemistry. having more than one valence.
2. Bacteriology. (of an immune serum) containing several antibodies, each capable of reacting with a specific antigen.

polyvalent

/ ˌpɒlɪˈveɪlənt; pəˈlɪvələnt /

adjective

1. chem having more than one valency
2. of a vaccine
   1. effective against several strains of the same disease-producing microorganism, antigen, or toxin
   2. produced from cultures containing several strains of the same microorganism

polyvalent

/ pŏl′ē-vā′lənt /

1. Acting against or interacting with more than one kind of antigen, antibody, toxin, or microorganism.
2. Having more than one valence. Iron and manganese are polyvalent elements.

Derived Forms

• ˌpolyˈvalency, noun

Other Words From

• poly·valence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of polyvalent¹

First recorded in 1880–85; poly- + -valent

Example Sentences

“So we wanted to find a way to make it, like, polyvalent and able to target more than one drug.”

From Washington Post

For several years, Bstroy has been figuring out ways to make improbable gestures probable, with clothes that anticipate needs that are primal, polyvalent and sometimes mutant.

From New York Times

What Debussy did was to pull apart the epoxy-strength attachment those chords share and allow them to float, not entirely free from each other, but in a more polyvalent, even ambiguous relation to each other.

From New York Times

At its best, BTS’s music is dense and polyvalent, verging on chaos.

From New York Times

Artists’ books, she said, are polyvalent, with multiple access points.

From Los Angeles Times