Allergy
/ˈælərʒi/
nounBeginnerVery CommonScience
Meaning
Questions
Definitions
1
A damaging immune response by the body to a normally harmless substance.
/ˈælərʒi/
nounneutralBeginner
Science
A hypersensitive reaction to a foreign substance.
He suffers from seasonal allergies.
💡 Simply: A reaction to something that makes you sick or itchy.
More Examples
2
She had an allergic reaction to the medication.
How It's Used
Medical
"She has a severe allergy to peanuts."
Everyday conversation
"My allergies are acting up today."
From French allergie, coined in 1906 by Clemens von Pirquet, from Greek allos ('other') + ergon ('work'). It describes a reaction of the body to a foreign substance.
The term 'allergy' emerged in the early 20th century with the understanding of immune responses.
Memory tip
Think 'allergy' as 'all-ergy' - your body is at war with everything!
Practice
Base: allergy
alurgyalergyalirgy
Usage
70%Spoken
30%Written