Infection-resistant

Less likely than a relevant comparison to develop infection under specified conditions.

Reach for it when describing measured resistance without implying immunity

The trial compared infection-resistant seedlings with the standard variety during one wet season.

• everyday

  hardy

  the plant or animal tolerates difficult conditions generally

  not when Hardy says nothing specific about pathogen response.

• everyday

  less susceptible

  the comparative finding should be stated without branding

  not when Less susceptible is precise but needs the comparison group and exposure conditions.

• professional

  disease-resistant

  reduced susceptibility covers a named disease more broadly

  not when Disease resistance may act through mechanisms other than preventing infection.

• professional

  robust

  overall performance remains strong under stress

  not when Calling something robust can conceal which stress was actually tested.

• formal

  immune

  the organism has specific protective immunity

  not when Immune is a stronger biological claim and can still be incomplete.

• formal

  pathogen-resistant

  resistance is linked to a named pathogen

  not when Pathogen-resistant should not be generalized beyond the organism tested.

• susceptible
• vulnerable
• infection-prone

• infection-resistant variety

  The infection-resistant variety showed fewer cases under the trial conditions.

• infection-resistant material

  The coating is marketed as infection-resistant, but the report measures surface contamination only.

• more infection-resistant

  Older plants were more infection-resistant than seedlings in this study.

Resistance is comparative and conditional. The pathogen, population, exposure, outcome, and study conditions should accompany the claim.

Infection-resistant is not a headword in the dictionaries below. The sense was checked against their entries for resistant, and the definition and example here are written for Infection-resistant itself.

• Merriam-Webster, the entry for resistant, adjective sense 1: offering resistance to something ↗opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.