anaphylaxis

A1N1A1P3H4Y4L1A1X8I1S1
US/ˌænəfɪˈlæksɪs/

noun

Extreme sensitivity to a substance such as a foreign protein or drug.

Less commonScrabble 26Word of the Day · Mar 6, 2025

Meanings

nounanaphylaxis (countable and uncountable, plural anaphylaxes)

plural anaphylaxes

  1. countableuncountableExtreme sensitivity to a substance such as a foreign protein or drug.
  2. countableuncountableA severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen, causing a constriction of the trachea, preventing breathing; anaphylactic shock.

    He said a bite could send someone into anaphylaxis, which is a narrowing of the airways and lowering of blood pressure, within minutes.

    2025 August 16, Rylee Kirk, quoting William Sutton, “Hiker in Tennessee Who Picked Up a Venomous Snake Dies After Being Bitten”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2025
    2 more examples

    “Anyone who has experienced or witnessed an anaphylaxis reaction knows it can be very stressful deciding when to inject epinephrine to themselves or a child and often delay,” Dr. Jonathan Spergel, chief of the allergy program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a news release from ARS Pharmaceuticals.

    2024 August 9, Meg Tirrell, “First nasal spray epinephrine drug for emergency allergic reactions gets FDA approval”, in CNN

    While we wait, she [Maggie Aderin-Pocock] reassures me that she always carries an EpiPen, and says she has recently become an ambassador for the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, an allergy awareness charity named after teenager Natasha Ednan-Laperousse, who died from anaphylaxis in 2016.

    2025 December 20, Laura Battle, “Lunch with the FT: Maggie Aderin-Pocock”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3

Synonyms & antonyms

Broader
type I hypersensitivityhypersensitivity

Origin

  1. Frenchanaphylaxie
  2. Englishanaphylaxis

Borrowed from French anaphylaxie, coined by French physiologist and parapsychologist Charles Richet and French zoologist Paul Portier from the Ancient Greek ᾰ̓νᾰ- (ănă-, “(intensifier) thoroughly”) from ᾰ̓νᾰ́ (ănắ, “to, again, upon”) and φύλαξις (phúlaxis, “protection, watching, guarding”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic إِعْوَار, عَوَار
  • إِعْوَار (ʔiʕwār)severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
  • عَوَار (ʕawār)severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
  • تَأَق (taʔaq)severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Catalan anafilaxi
  • anafilaxisevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Chinese Mandarin 過敏性反應 /过敏性反应, 過敏性休克 /过敏性休克
  • 過敏性反應 /过敏性反应 (guòmǐnxìng fǎnyìng)severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
  • 過敏性休克 /过敏性休克 (guòmǐnxìng xiūkè)severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Czech anafylaxe
  • anafylaxesevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Dutch anafylaxie
  • anafylaxiesevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Esperanto anafilaksio
  • anafilaksiosevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Finnish anafylaksia, anafylaksia
  • anafylaksiaextreme sensitivity to a substance such as a foreign protein or drug
  • anafylaksiasevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
French anaphylaxie
  • anaphylaxiesevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
German Anaphylaxie, Anaphylaxie
  • Anaphylaxieextreme sensitivity to a substance such as a foreign protein or drug
  • Anaphylaxiesevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Greek αναφυλαξία
  • αναφυλαξία (anafylaxía)severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Hindi तीव्रग्राहिता
  • तीव्रग्राहिता (tīvragrāhitā)severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Hungarian anafilaxia, anafilaxia
  • anafilaxiaextreme sensitivity to a substance such as a foreign protein or drug
  • anafilaxiasevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Indonesian anafilaksis, anafilaksis
  • anafilaksisextreme sensitivity to a substance such as a foreign protein or drug
  • anafilaksissevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Italian anafilassi
  • anafilassisevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Japanese アナフィラキシー
  • アナフィラキシー (anafirakishī)severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Polish anafilaksja, wstrząs anafilaktyczny
  • anafilaksjaextreme sensitivity to a substance such as a foreign protein or drug
  • wstrząs anafilaktycznysevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Portuguese anafilaxia
  • anafilaxiasevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Russian анафилакси́я
  • анафилакси́я (anafilaksíja)severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Spanish anafilaxia, anafilaxia
  • anafilaxiaextreme sensitivity to a substance such as a foreign protein or drug
  • anafilaxiasevere and rapid systemic allergic reaction to an allergen
Turkish anafilaksi
  • anafilaksiextreme sensitivity to a substance such as a foreign protein or drug
Cite this entry
APA

anaphylaxis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anaphylaxis

MLA

“anaphylaxis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anaphylaxis. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anaphylaxis,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anaphylaxis.

Source: anaphylaxis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.