very rapid development of tolerance or immunity to the effects of a drug
Word origin
New Latin, from tachy- + phylaxis on the model of prophylaxis. See prophylactic
tachyphylaxis in American English
(ˌtækəfɪˈlæksɪs)
noun
1. Medicine
immediate, temporary immunization against the effects of injection of a toxic extract owing to previous small injections of the same extract
2.
a decreased response to a medicine given over a period of time so that larger doses are required to produce the same response
Also: tachyphylaxia
Derived forms
tachyphylactic (ˌtækəfɪˈlæktɪk)
adjective
Word origin
[tachy- + Gk phýlaxis a guarding, equiv. to phylak- (s. of phylássein to guard) + -sis-sis]tachy- is a combining form meaning “swift,” used in the formation of compound words. Otherwords that use the affix tachy- include: tachycardia, tachygraph, tachygraphy, tachylyte, tachytelic
Examples of 'tachyphylaxis' in a sentence
tachyphylaxis
The phenomenon, called tachyphylaxis, means larger and larger doses are needed to have an effect.