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polyvalent Definition

poly·va·lent (päl′i vā′lənt)

adjective

  1. Bacteriology designating a vaccine effective against many strains of the same species of microorganism
  2. Chem.
    1. having a valence of more than two
    2. having more than one valence

polyvalent Related Forms
pol′y·va′·lence noun
polyvalent Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • vaccine: Neither polyvalent bacterial vaccines, alkalies, citrus fruits, vitamins, ultraviolet light, nor glycol aerosols prevent the common cold.
  • bridge: A polyvalent bridge may often be considered as a combination of two bivalent simple bridges - one first-order and the other dependent.