The process by which your body develops an immune response against its own tissues, or the act of inducing such a response.
From Greek 'auto' (self) and Latin 'immunis' (exempt) plus the suffix '-ization' indicating a process. This medical term developed alongside immunology in the 20th century.
Researchers can deliberately create autoimmunization in laboratory animals to study diseases like multiple sclerosis—it's one of the most important tools for understanding why our own immune systems sometimes betray us.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.