interferon

See also: Interferon, interferón, interféron, and înterferon

English

interferon (sense 1)

Etymology

From interfere +‎ -on (suffix: chemical compound), from its role interfering with viral replication.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĭn′tər-fîr′ŏn′
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təˈfɪːˌɒn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təɹˈfɪɹˌɑn/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təɹˈfɪɹˌɒn/
• (Australia) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təˈfɪəˌɔn/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˌən.tɐˈfiə̯ˌɔn/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təɹˈfiɹˌɔn/
• (India) IPA^(key): /ˌin.ʈɜʳˈfiːɾˌɒn/
• Rhymes: -ɪːɒn
• Hyphenation: in‧ter‧fer‧on

Noun

interferon (plural interferons)

2. (biochemistry) Any of a group of glycoproteins, produced by the immune system, that prevent viral replication in infected cells.

Derived terms

• albinterferon
• antiinterferon
• interferome
• interferonic
• interferonopathy
• peginterferon

Translations

any of a group of glycoproteins, that prevent viral replication in infected cells

• Catalan: interferó m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 干擾素 (zh) (gānrǎosù)

• Czech: interferon m
• Dutch: interferon (nl) m
• Esperanto: interferono sg, interferonoj pl
• Finnish: interferoni
• French: interféron (fr) m
• German: Interferon m
• Hebrew: אינטרפרון m
• Hungarian: interferon (hu)
• Ido: please add this translation if you can
• Interlingua: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: interferone (it) m
• Japanese: インターフェロン (ja) (intāferon)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: please add this translation if you can

  Northern Kurdish: înterferon

• Polish: interferon (pl) m
• Portuguese: interferão m (Portugal), interferon m (Brazil)
• Romanian: interferon (ro) m
• Russian: интерферо́н (ru) m (interferón)
• Spanish: interferón m
• Swedish: interferon (sv)
• Thai: อินเตอร์ฟีรอน (interfīron)
• Volapük: please add this translation if you can

Anagrams

• Ferrentino

Czech

interferon (sense 1)

Etymology

Borrowed from English interferon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɪntɛrfɛron]
• Hyphenation: in‧ter‧fe‧ron

Noun

interferon m inan

2. (biochemistry) interferon (any of a group of glycoproteins, that prevent viral replication in infected cells)

Declension

Declension of interferon (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	interferon	interferony
genitive	interferonu	interferonů
dative	interferonu	interferonům
accusative	interferon	interferony
vocative	interferone	interferony
locative	interferonu	interferonech
instrumental	interferonem	interferony

Further reading

• “interferon”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
• “interferon”, in Akademický slovník cizích slov at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz [Academic dictionary of foreign words] (in Czech), 1995

Dutch

interferon (sense 1)

Etymology

Borrowed from English interferon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪn.tər.fəˈrɔn/
• Rhymes: -ɔn
• Hyphenation: in‧ter‧fe‧ron

Noun

interferon n (plural interferonnen, no diminutive)

2. (biochemistry) interferon (any of a group of glycoproteins, that prevent viral replication in infected cells)

Further reading

• “interferon” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /interˈferon/
• Rhymes: -eron
• Syllabification: in‧ter‧fe‧ron

Noun

interferon

1. accusative singular of interfero

Hungarian

interferon (sense 1)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English interferon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈintɛrfɛron]
• Hyphenation: in‧ter‧fe‧ron
• Rhymes: -on

Noun

interferon (plural interferonok)

2. (biochemistry) interferon (any of a group of glycoproteins that prevent viral replication in infected cells)

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	interferon	interferonok
accusative	interferont	interferonokat
dative	interferonnak	interferonoknak
instrumental	interferonnal	interferonokkal
causal-final	interferonért	interferonokért
translative	interferonná	interferonokká
terminative	interferonig	interferonokig
essive-formal	interferonként	interferonokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	interferonban	interferonokban
superessive	interferonon	interferonokon
adessive	interferonnál	interferonoknál
illative	interferonba	interferonokba
sublative	interferonra	interferonokra
allative	interferonhoz	interferonokhoz
elative	interferonból	interferonokból
delative	interferonról	interferonokról
ablative	interferontól	interferonoktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	interferoné	interferonoké
non-attributive possessive – plural	interferonéi	interferonokéi

Possessive forms of interferon

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	interferonom	interferonjaim
2nd person sing.	interferonod	interferonjaid
3rd person sing.	interferonja	interferonjai
1st person plural	interferonunk	interferonjaink
2nd person plural	interferonotok	interferonjaitok
3rd person plural	interferonjuk	interferonjaik

Further reading

• interferon and (with subscription) interferon  in Ferenc Pusztai, editor, Magyar értelmező kéziszótár [A Concise Explanatory Dictionary of Hungarian] (ÉKsz.²), 2nd, expanded and revised edition, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2003 (online searchable version under development).

Polish

interferon (sense 1)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from English interferon. First attested in 1970.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in.tɛrˈfɛ.rɔn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛrɔn
• Syllabification: in‧ter‧fe‧ron

Noun

interferon m inan (related adjective interferonowy)

2. (biochemistry) interferon (any of a group of glycoproteins, that prevent viral replication in infected cells)

   interferon alfa ― interferon-alpha

   • 1988, Inga Chlewicka, Marek Pawlikowski, Leczenie hormonami i pochodnymi hormonów [Treatment with hormones and hormone derivatives]‎^[1], 2. corrected and expanded edition, quoted in Korpus Języka Polskiego PWN, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Lekarskie: Państwowy Zakład Wydawnictw Lekarskich, published 1996, →ISBN, archived from the original on 28 July 2025:

     Działanie immunosupresyjne glikokortykosteroidów wiąże się m.in. z hamowaniem uwalniania interleukin IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, czynnika nekrozy nowotworu (TNF-a), interferonu g.

     The immunosuppressive effect of glucocorticosteroids is associated with, among others, the inhibition of the release of interleukins IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a), and interferon g.

   • 1995, Katarzyna Sułek, “Wirus zatrzymał się w Eboli”, in Polityka‎^[2], number 21, quoted in Korpus Języka Polskiego PWN; Narodowy Korpus Języka Polskiego, Warszawa: Polityka, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 July 2025:

     Do walki wkraczają przeciwciała, limfocyty, i interferony, mające zdolność hamowania replikacji (namnażania) wirusów.

     Antibodies, lymphocytes, and interferons, which have the ability to inhibit the replication (multiplication) of viruses, enter the fray.

   • 2017, Maśliński, Włodzimierz, Kontna, Ewa, editors, Podstawy immunologii dla reumatologów [Basic immunology for rheumatologists]‎^[3], Warszawa: Narodowy Instytut Geriatrii, Reumatologii, i Rehabilitacji im[ienia]. prof[esora]. d[okto]r[a] hab[ilitowanego]. med[ycyny]. E[leonory]. Reicher, published 2017, →ISBN, page 133, lines 4–6:

     Stymulowane interferonem makrofagi nie tylko skuteczniej fagocytują mikroorganizmy, ale przede wszystkim stają się cytotoksyczne wobec, na przykład, komórek nowotworowych.

     Interferon-stimulated macrophages not only phagocytose microorganisms more effectively, but most importantly become cytotoxic against, for example, cancer cells.

Declension

Declension of interferon

	singular	plural
nominative	interferon	interferony
genitive	interferonu	interferonów
dative	interferonowi	interferonom
accusative	interferon	interferony
instrumental	interferonem	interferonami
locative	interferonie	interferonach
vocative	interferonie	interferony

Further reading

• “interferon”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)
• Zygmunt Saloni, et al., editors (2020), “interferon”, in Słownik gramatyczny języka polskiego [Grammatical Dictionary of Polish]‎^[5], 4. online edition, Warszawa

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teʁ.feˈɾõ/ [ĩ.teh.feˈɾõ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teʁ.feˈɾõ/ [ĩ.teh.feˈɾõ]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teɾ.feˈɾõ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teʁ.feˈɾõ/ [ĩ.teχ.feˈɾõ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teɻ.feˈɾõ/

• Hyphenation: in‧ter‧fe‧ron

Noun

interferon m (plural interferons)

2. (biochemistry) Brazilian Portuguese standard spelling of interferão (“interferon”) (any of a group of glycoproteins, that prevent viral replication in infected cells)

Further reading

• “interferon”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

interferon (sense 1)

Etymology

Borrowed from English interferon or French interféron. Compare Spanish interferón.

Noun

interferon m (plural interferoni)

2. (biochemistry) interferon (any of a group of glycoproteins, that prevent viral replication in infected cells)

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	interferon	interferonul	interferoni	interferonii
genitive-dative	interferon	interferonului	interferoni	interferonilor
vocative	interferonule		interferonilor

Swedish

interferon (sense 1)

Etymology

Borrowed from English interferon.

Noun

interferon n

2. (biochemistry) interferon (any of a group of glycoproteins, that prevent viral replication in infected cells)

Declension

Declension of interferon

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	interferon	interferons
	definite	interferonet	interferonets
plural	indefinite	interferon	interferons
	definite	interferonen	interferonens

Further reading

• interferon in Nationalencyklopedin (needs an authorization fee).
• interferon in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (11th ed., 6th printing, 1991)
• interferon in Project Runeberg
• “interferon”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “interferon”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)