inoculate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb introduce an idea or attitude into the mind of
    • My teachers inoculated me with their beliefs
  2. verb introduce a microorganism into
  3. verb perform vaccinations or produce immunity in by inoculation
    immunise; immunize; vaccinate.
    • We vaccinate against scarlet fever
    • The nurse vaccinated the children in the school
  4. verb insert a bud for propagation
  5. verb impregnate with the virus or germ of a disease in order to render immune

WordNet

In*oc"u*late transitive verb
Etymology
L. inoculatus, p.p. of inoculare to ingraft; pref. in- in,on + oculare to furnish with eyes, fr. oculus an eye, also, a bud. See Ocular.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Inoculated ; present participle & verbal noun Inoculating
Definitions
  1. To bud; to insert, or graft, as the bud of a tree or plant in another tree or plant.
  2. To insert a foreign bud into; as, to inoculate a tree.
  3. (Med.) To communicate a disease to ( a person ) by inserting infectious matter in the skin or flesh; as, to inoculate a person with the virus of smallpox,rabies, etc. See Vaccinate.
  4. Fig.: To introduce into the mind; -- used especially of harmful ideas or principles; to imbue; as, to inoculate one with treason or infidelity.
In*oc"u*late intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To graft by inserting buds.
  2. To communicate disease by inoculation.

Webster 1913