How to Use antiviral in a Sentence

antiviral

1 of 2 adjective
  • The antiviral drug Paxlovid works best when started right away.
    — Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2022
  • At this time, there is no specific antiviral treatment for measles.
    — Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 2 Feb. 2024
  • There are no antiviral drugs to kill the dengue virus, and the search for a safe and effective vaccine has been long and fraught.
    — Stephanie Nolen and Eleanor Lutz. Photography and Video By Federico Rios Escobar For The New York Times. Eleanor Lutz, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023
  • There is no antiviral treatment or vaccine for hantavirus.
    — Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2026
  • Cardamom tea alone won’t replace vaccines or antiviral medicines.
    — New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The virus can cause illness in people of all ages, and there is no vaccine or antiviral treatment available.
    — Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2026
  • But these antiviral drugs are unable to effectively cross into the brain and spinal cord.
    — Smita S. Iyer, The Conversation, 8 June 2026
  • The antiviral Paxlovid could help and should be taken within five days of symptoms starting.
    — Sam Jones, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2023
  • It's approved to treat some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions but isn't an antiviral drug.
    — Tom Sissom, Arkansas Online, 29 Dec. 2022
  • She has been prescribed the antiviral drug Paxlovid and will isolate at the vacation home for at least five days.
    — Zeke Miller, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2022
  • There is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine for hantavirus.
    — Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2026
  • Neuzil noted there are other tools for high-risk people who contract Covid — antiviral drugs.
    — Helen Branswell, STAT, 16 Mar. 2023
  • There is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine for hantavirus.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
  • Researchers can use it to test how well antiviral drugs work directly in living cells and see the results in real time.
    — Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 12 Dec. 2025
  • Paxlovid is an antiviral medication that is used to treat high-risk people, such as older patients.
    — Reuters, NBC News, 15 Aug. 2022
  • Fights colds The antiviral properties in oregano oil help keep your immune system strong enough to fight off any colds that blow through.
    — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
  • And yet, an antiviral treatment proven to lessen the chances of severe outcomes is going underused.
    — Kenya Hunter, Fortune Well, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Oseltamivir, sold under the brand name Tamiflu, is an antiviral drug used to treat and prevent the flu.
    — Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Illustration of antiviral tactics to control pathogens, with a red target sign over the virus.
    — Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
  • The shingles virus causes a painful rash and can require antiviral medications to treat.
    — Shira Stein, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Mar. 2023
  • There’s no specific antiviral treatment for norovirus.
    — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Dec. 2025
  • The doctor prescribed a potent steroid cream along with an antiviral medication to be taken for a week.
    — Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 7 Oct. 2023
  • Oseltamivir, zanamivir and peramivir are antiviral medications that work by stopping the virus from spreading in the body.
    — Dr. Jade Cobern, ABC News, 31 Dec. 2025
  • China may be hoping that more domestic antiviral pills in development are able to fill the void.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN, 13 Jan. 2023
  • Flu is treatable for high-risk people with antiviral medicine, if taken within 48 hours of symptoms.
    — Mark Prussin, CBS News, 27 Dec. 2025
  • His symptoms worsened, and he was sent to an intensive care unit and treated with antiviral medicines and antibiotics.
    — Julia Musto, Fox News, 15 Apr. 2023
  • The child was treated with flu antiviral drugs, was not hospitalized and has recovered from the illness.
    — Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 5 Aug. 2023
  • At the time, the first lady, now 72, was prescribed the antiviral Paxlovid and told to stay away from others for at least five days.
    — Peter Alexander, NBC News, 5 Sep. 2023
  • There is no specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus.
    — Katrine Wallace, STAT, 8 May 2026
  • Since 2013, oral antiviral drugs that can cure hepatitis C have been on the market.
    — Jon Lapook, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2023

antiviral

2 of 2 noun
  • That leaves a gap that antivirals could fill.
    — New Atlas, 29 Dec. 2025
  • He was prescribed an antiviral, and within a few weeks, the rash cleared up.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2025
  • Ivermectin is not an antiviral (a drug for treating viruses).
    — Rex Huppke, chicagotribune.com, 27 Aug. 2021
  • There is no vaccine for Nipah or antivirals to lessen the symptoms.
    — Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 31 Jan. 2026
  • The toddler with the rash has started on antibiotics and an antiviral.
    — Rachel Pearson, The New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2022
  • The antiviral is intended to be taken twice a day over five days, for a total of ten capsules.
    — Riley Griffin, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Jan. 2021
  • Two of the pills are Paxlovid and the third is a different antiviral that helps boost levels of the main drug in the body.
    — Wire Reports, oregonlive, 24 Dec. 2021
  • Pfizer said that its antiviral was most effective within the first three days of symptoms.
    — NBC News, 5 Nov. 2021
  • If someone has symptoms for more than five days, doctors say antivirals may not be very effective.
    — Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 30 Dec. 2025
  • For flu antivirals to be more widely used would also require better testing.
    — Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 12 Jan. 2026
  • For flu, antivirals are a second but oft-overlooked line of defense after vaccines.
    — Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Acyclovir is a type of antiviral used to treat chickenpox, herpes and shingles.
    — Virginia Langmaid, CNN, 2 Oct. 2021
  • So most antivirals only treat a single virus or a few viruses within the same family.
    — Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Some of these mutations may alter virus proteins enough to allow the virus to better evade the antiviral.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 20 May 2022
  • Add to these, the possibility that the antiviral is not reaching all of the cells in your body that contain the virus.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 30 June 2022
  • For another patient, Alozie hoped to get a new antiviral called Paxlovid.
    — Eric Boodman and Isabella Cueto, STAT, 14 Jan. 2022
  • Trials for two antivirals are expected to start next week, officials said.
    — Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 24 June 2026
  • If cleared by regulators, the drug would be the first oral antiviral for Covid-19.
    — Betsy McKay, WSJ, 1 Oct. 2021
  • That formed a roadmap for other scientists well-versed in nucleoside analogs, a type of antiviral.
    — Quartz, 2 Feb. 2023
  • However, so far, the antivirals are effective against it.
    — Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2026
  • The new study supports that anecdotal conclusion—but not just for those taking the antiviral.
    — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 31 Oct. 2022
  • The other is an antiviral, which works by directly stopping the virus from replicating.
    — Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2021
  • One of the earliest contenders was remdesivir, an antiviral from biotech giant Gilead.
    — Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2020
  • Some of these therapies include the use of antivirals, but the current ones are ineffective.
    — Humberto Basilio, Scientific American, 12 Nov. 2025
  • Both patients were exposed to pigs less than 10 days prior to symptom onset and were treated with antivirals.
    — Gabrielle M. Etzel, Washington Examiner, 4 Aug. 2023
  • Some doctors also prescribe antivirals as a preventative for people who are at high risk for the virus if they are exposed.
    — Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 30 Dec. 2025
  • An oral antiviral is seen as the gold standard to ease the burden of disease on health systems, domestically and abroad.
    — Rebecca Torrence, Fortune, 17 June 2021
  • Less than a decade ago, high prices similarly slowed the uptake of hepatitis C antivirals.
    — Michael Rose, STAT, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Treatments like the antivirals Lo now takes weren’t available until the 1990s.
    — Jackie Fortiér, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Lab studies also suggest the antiviral will remain potent against the omicron variant, which has been rapidly spreading across the globe.
    — Celina Tebor, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'antiviral.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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