Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not decolorized by acid after staining, as bacteria that retain dye after an acid rinse.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • A literal translation of the German “säurfest”: applied to a class of bacteria which, when once stained with basic aniline dyes, tenaciously hold the dye on subsequent exposure to acids or alcohol.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective histology, of bacteria Retaining stain when treated with an acidic solution.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective not easily decolorized by acid solutions; pertains to micro-organisms (especially the tubercle bacillus that causes tuberculosis)

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