intravenous

intravenous — adjective

1. Relating to a method of giving medicine or liquid directly into a vein through a

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

Relating to a method of giving medicine or liquid directly into a vein through a thin tube.

Example

Sora needed intravenous fluids after losing too much water from the fever.

collocation: intravenous fluids

The nurse inserted an intravenous line into Takeshi's arm before the surgery.

collocation: intravenous line

Common collocations
  • intravenous fluids
  • intravenous injection
  • intravenous line
  • intravenous drip
  • intravenous nutrition
  • intravenous medication
Synonyms
  • IV

    the standard abbreviation, used both as an adjective and a noun in medical settings; far more common in speech than the full form

Antonyms
  • oral

    taken by mouth rather than through a vein

  • topical

    applied to the skin rather than injected into a vein

Grammar Patterns

intravenous + noun (fluids / injection / line / drip / nutrition)

Usage Note

Frequently placed before a noun such as fluids, injection, line, drip, or nutrition. The abbreviation IV (pronounced "eye-vee") is far more common in everyday hospital talk and can be used both as an adjective (an IV drip) and as a noun (he is on an IV).

Common Mistakes

The doctor gave an intravenous to the patient.
The doctor gave the patient an intravenous injection.
Intravenous is an adjective; the thing being delivered is an intravenous injection, drip, or fluid. The noun form is IV or intravenous drip.

Word family

  • intravenously
    adverbC1
  • IV
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Intravenous is the full adjective form used in formal medical writing, charts, and patient education materials (e.g., 'intravenous administration of fluids'). IV is the everyday abbreviation used by doctors, nurses, and patients in speech and informal notes — it functions as both an adjective ('an IV line') and a noun ('he needs an IV'). Intravenous drip (or simply drip) refers specifically to the setup in which fluids or medicine flow slowly from a bag through a tube into the vein over time. If a patient needs a single shot of medicine, that is not a drip. Use intravenous for formal writing, IV for general hospital communication, and drip only when describing continuous slow delivery.

intravenous ↗IVintravenous drip

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Comes from Latin intra- (within, inside) and vena (vein). The term entered medical English in the mid-1800s as doctors began developing ways to deliver substances directly into the bloodstream, avoiding the digestive system.