allergic

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /əˈlɝ.d͡ʒɪk/ UK /əˈlɜː.dʒɪk/ See IPA manual

Freq #5531

Meanings

1

adj
Having a bad physical reaction to a particular substance.

I am allergic to cats.
2

adj
Caused by an allergy.

She had an allergic reaction to the medicine.
3

adj
Strongly disliking something.

My brother is allergic to hard work.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having a bad physical... hypersensitive

Word family

Derived forms aeroallergicantiallergicautoallergicgastroallergichyperallergichypoallergicimmunoallergicnonallergicphotoallergicpolyallergicproallergicpseudoallergic

Related forms allergenallergicallyallergy

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

allergic reaction
an unwanted response of the immune system to a substance

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From allergy + -ic.

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# allergic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /əˈlɝ.d͡ʒɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈlɜː.dʒɪk/
**Frequency rank:** 5531

## Meanings
1. Having a bad physical reaction to a particular substance.
2. Caused by an allergy.
3. Strongly disliking something.

## Examples
- I am allergic to cats.
- She had an allergic reaction to the medicine.
- My brother is allergic to hard work.

## Derived Forms
- aeroallergic
- antiallergic
- autoallergic
- gastroallergic
- hyperallergic
- hypoallergic
- immunoallergic
- nonallergic
- photoallergic
- polyallergic
- proallergic
- pseudoallergic

## Related Forms
- allergen
- allergically
- allergy

## Etymology
From allergy + -ic.

## AI Etymology
Allergic is from allergy plus -ic. The formation is semantically transparent: the parts remain visible, while the compound or affix fixes the grammatical role and narrows the modern meaning. In use as an adjective, allergic denotes having a bad physical reaction to a particular substance, caused by an allergy, and strongly disliking something. The same word family continues in derived forms such as aeroallergic, antiallergic, autoallergic, and gastroallergic and related entries such as allergen, allergically, and allergy.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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