Definition

Relating to or causing disease in cells.

Example

The cytopathogenic effects of the virus were evident under the microscope.

Conversation

I was reading about how some viruses are cytopathogenic and can damage our cells.

That's interesting! I didn't know that they could affect cells that way.

Yeah, it really makes you think about how fragile our bodies are.

Absolutely! It's amazing how much we still have to learn about them.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Cytopathogenic → It is formed from "cyto-" (from Greek "kytos", meaning cell) and "pathogenic" (from Greek "pathos", meaning disease or suffering, and "genes", meaning born of or produced by). The word describes something that causes disease in cells.

Memory Tip

Think of 'cells' ('cyto-') that are 'produced by' ('genes') something that causes 'disease' ('pathos') — that's why cytopathogenic refers to something that causes disease in cells.

Visually Confused Words