microbial

English

Etymology

microbe +‎ -ial

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /maɪˈkrəʊ.bi.əl/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /maɪˈkroʊ.bi.əl/

Adjective

microbial (not comparable)

1. Of, relating to, or caused by microbes or microorganisms.
   • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

     Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.

2. Small; tiny; minuscule.
   • 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 191:

     As I say, one must not blame the Christians too much for all this - partly because, after the communal periods which I have just mentioned, Christianity was evidently deeply influenced by the rise of Commercialism to which during the last two centuries it has so carefully and piously adapted itself; and partly because - if our view is anywhere near right - this microbial injection of self-consciousness was just the necessary work which (in conjunction with commercialism) it had to perform.

Derived terms

• amicrobial
• antimicrobial
• electromicrobial
• endomicrobial
• geomicrobial
• immunomicrobial
• intermicrobial
• microbial clock
• microbial fuel cell
• microbialite
• microbially
• monomicrobial
• multimicrobial
• nonmicrobial
• paucimicrobial
• perimicrobial
• polymicrobial
• promicrobial
• pseudomicrobial
• rhizomicrobial
• sociomicrobial

 

Translations

relating to microbes

• Catalan: microbià
• Czech: mikrobiální
• Dutch: microbieel (nl)
• French: microbien (fr)
• Galician: microbiano
• German: mikrobisch
• Greek: μικροβιακός (el) (mikroviakós)
• Italian: microbico (it)
• Portuguese: microbial, micróbico, microbiano
• Spanish: microbiano
• Swedish: mikrobiell
• Turkish: mikrobik (tr), (medical) mikrobic, mikrobiyal

Noun

microbial (plural microbials)

1. A microbe or bacterium.

Anagrams

• mirabolic

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /mi.kɾo.biˈaw/ [mi.kɾo.bɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /mi.kɾoˈbjaw/ [mi.kɾoˈbjaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mi.kɾuˈbjal/ [mi.kɾuˈβjaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mi.kɾuˈbjal/ [mi.kɾuˈβjaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /mi.kɾuˈbja.li/ [mi.kɾuˈβja.li]

• Hyphenation: mi‧cro‧bi‧al

Adjective

microbial m or f (plural microbiais)

1. microbial (relating to microbes)

   Synonyms: micróbico, microbiano

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mikɾoˈbjal/ [mi.kɾoˈβ̞jal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: mi‧cro‧bial

Adjective

microbial m or f (masculine and feminine plural microbiales)

1. microbial