verb

• 1Adapt for use as a weapon.

  ‘they had produced and weaponized many deadly biological agents, including anthrax’

  More example sentences

  • ‘And why is the government spending money weaponizing biological agents that are a danger to the public and are banned under the 1972 Biological Warfare Convention?’
  • ‘Worse, there's no reason to think that he's the only person in the world who has ‘no moral qualms about developing weaponized anthrax and smallpox.’’
  • ‘Among the most startling admissions made by scientists there was that they had weaponized the biological agent aflatoxin.’
  • ‘Do you believe that right now there are people in this world trying to weaponize smallpox and other viruses, and succeeding?’
  • ‘Ken Alibek has alleged that the Soviets had a program to weaponize smallpox.’
  • ‘On 1 July 1995, they had admitted to the production of bulk biological agent, but had denied weaponizing it.’
  • ‘High temperatures or intense radiation can destroy chemical or biological agents such as VX nerve gas or weaponized anthrax.’
  • ‘He grew it, probably on a solid medium and weaponized it at a private location where he had accumulated the equipment and the material.’
  • ‘There's never been an acknowledgement that any facility there had weaponized anthrax.’
  • ‘We knew that he had biological precursors; the question was always whether he had perfected the way of weaponizing the precursors - in other words, turning smallpox into a real weapon.’
  • ‘I think we'll find biological precursors that may or may not have been weaponized.’
  • ‘In which case the terrorists now have nuclear/chemical/biological materials and the tools to weaponize them.’
  • ‘These same qualities make producing and weaponizing anthrax a top priority for many developing countries and non-state actors trying to boost their influence on the global stage.’
  • ‘It is now believed that smallpox specimens exists in secret storage facilities and at some point may be weaponized and delivered to human populations.’
  • ‘After all, plague is one of the diseases that can be weaponized.’
  • ‘The assumption is that if ricin were weaponized, it would be treated like anthrax spores and dispersed for maximum effect.’
  • ‘Many countries currently have weaponized anthrax, and many others are trying to acquire it.’
  • ‘Had they made any progress towards weaponising their chemical and bacterial agents?’
  • ‘Although any toxin or infectious agent could in theory be weaponised, the WHO believes that there are only five diseases likely to be used in a biological weapon: anthrax, botulism, smallpox, plague and tularaemia.’

  1. 1.1Install weapons in (a place)
     More example sentences

     • ‘critics see this effort to weaponize space as profoundly dangerous for national security’
• 2Exploit for the purpose of attacking a person or group, or for spreading discord.

  ‘they find it easier to weaponize the fear and uncertainty of national events’

  More example sentences

  • ‘he spoke about the dangers of cynicism, and how it can be weaponized against us’