IRRADIATION

Pronunciation (US):

• IRRADIATION (noun)
  The noun IRRADIATION has 6 senses:

1. the condition of being exposed to radiation
2. a column of light (as from a beacon)
3. (physiology) the spread of sensory neural impulses in the cortex
4. the apparent enlargement of a bright object when viewed against a dark background
5. (Pavolvian conditioning) the elicitation of a conditioned response by stimulation similar but not identical to the original stimulus
6. (medicine) the treatment of disease (especially cancer) by exposure to a radioactive substance

  Familiarity information: IRRADIATION used as a noun is common.

• IRRADIATION (noun)

Meaning:

The condition of being exposed to radiation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("irradiation" is a kind of...):

condition; status (a state at a particular time)

Meaning:

A column of light (as from a beacon)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

shaft of light; beam of light; light beam; ray; ray of light; irradiation; beam; shaft

Hypernyms ("irradiation" is a kind of...):

light; visible light; visible radiation ((physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "irradiation"):

heat ray (a ray that produces a thermal effect)

high beam (the beam of a car's headlights that provides distant illumination)

moon ray; moon-ray; moonbeam (a ray of moonlight)

sunbeam; sunray (a ray of sunlight)

laser beam (a beam of light generated by a laser)

low beam (the beam of a car's headlights that provides illumination for a short distance)

Meaning:

(physiology) the spread of sensory neural impulses in the cortex

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("irradiation" is a kind of...):

spread; spreading (process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space)

Domain category:

physiology (the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms)

Meaning:

The apparent enlargement of a bright object when viewed against a dark background

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("irradiation" is a kind of...):

illusion; semblance (an erroneous mental representation)

Meaning:

(Pavolvian conditioning) the elicitation of a conditioned response by stimulation similar but not identical to the original stimulus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("irradiation" is a kind of...):

generalisation; generalization; stimulus generalisation; stimulus generalization ((psychology) transfer of a response learned to one stimulus to a similar stimulus)

Meaning:

(medicine) the treatment of disease (especially cancer) by exposure to a radioactive substance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

actinotherapy; radiation therapy; radiotherapy; irradiation; radiation

Hypernyms ("irradiation" is a kind of...):

therapy ((medicine) the act of caring for someone (as by medication or remedial training etc.))

Domain category:

medical specialty; medicine (the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "irradiation"):

phototherapy (the use of strong light to treat acne or hyperbilirubinemia of the newborn)

Curietherapy; radium therapy (the use of radium in radiation therapy)

X-ray therapy (the therapeutic use of X rays)