mithridatize

/ˌmɪθrəˈdeɪdaɪz/

mithridatize means to make immune to a poison by administration of gradually increasing doses. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

mithridatize is pronounced /ˌmɪθrəˈdeɪdaɪz/.

Why “mithridatize” is a great word

MITHRIDATIZE — [Verb] To render immune to a poison by administering it in gradually increasing doses. From the name Mithridates VI of Pontus (who was said to have practiced this technique) + the verb-forming suffix -ize. Unlike "immunize," which broadly confers resistance through benign agents, or "tolerate," which implies passive endurance, to mithridatize is an active, perilous cultivation of resistance through the very toxin that kills. It is the incremental taint of the evening wine, the daily nibble of a deadly leaf, the calibrated breath of a noxious fume—a deliberate dance with dissolution to steal a sliver of its power, forging the body's own vulnerabilities into a silent, living armor.

Etymology

From Mithridates + -ize, in reference to Mithridates VI of Pontus.

verb

To make immune to a poison by administration of gradually increasing doses.“Our constitutions adapt themselves to the slow poison of the world till we become mithridatized at last.”