noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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UK:/ˈpɹiːɒn/
UK:/ˈpɹaɪən/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːɒn
rhymes with -aɪən
1
noun
Meaning 1
A self-propagating misfolded conformer of a protein that is responsible for a number of diseases that affect the brain and other neural tissue.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: molecular biology
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A petrel of the genera Pachyptila and Halobaena.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
(microbiology) an infectious protein particle similar to a virus but lacking nucleic acid; thought to be the agent responsible for scrapie and other degenerative diseases of the nervous system
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: particle, subatomic particle
History
Etymology
From (a reordering of) the initial letters of proteinaceous infectious particle. Coined by American neurologist and biochemist Stanley B. Prusiner in 1982.
From Prion (former genus name), from Ancient Greek πρίων (príōn, “saw”).
Across languages
Translations
42 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
պրիոն
(prion)
— misfolded protein
Azerbaijani:
prion
— misfolded protein
Belarusian:
прыён
(pryjón)
— misfolded protein
Bengali:
প্রিয়ন
(priẏon)
— misfolded protein
Catalan:
prió
— misfolded protein
Chinese Mandarin:
朊病毒
(ruǎnbìngdú)
— misfolded protein
Chinese Mandarin:
朊毒體 /朊毒体
(ruǎndútǐ)
— misfolded protein
Chinese Mandarin:
普利昂
(pǔlì'áng)
— misfolded protein
Chinese Mandarin:
蛋白質侵染因子 /蛋白质侵染因子
(dànbáizhì qīnrǎn yīnzǐ)
— misfolded protein
Chinese Mandarin:
毒朊
(dúruǎn)
— misfolded protein
Chinese Mandarin:
感染性蛋白質 /感染性蛋白质
— misfolded protein
Chinese Mandarin:
感染性蛋白质
(gǎnrǎnxìng dànbáizhì)
— misfolded protein
Chinese Mandarin:
普恩蛋白
(pǔ'ēndànbái)
— misfolded protein
Chinese Mandarin:
普里昂
(pǔlǐ'áng)
— misfolded protein
Esperanto:
priono
— misfolded protein
Finnish:
prioni
— misfolded protein
French:
prion
— misfolded protein
German:
Prion
— misfolded protein
Greek:
πρίον
(príon)
— misfolded protein
Hebrew:
פריאון
(prión)
— misfolded protein
Indonesian:
prion
— misfolded protein
Irish:
prión
— misfolded protein
Italian:
prione
— misfolded protein
Japanese:
プリオン
(purion)
— misfolded protein
Korean:
프리온
(peurion)
— misfolded protein
Malay:
prion
— misfolded protein
Malayalam:
പ്രിയോൺ
(priyōṇ)
— misfolded protein
Odia:
ପ୍ରିଅନ୍
(prian)
— misfolded protein
Persian:
پریون
— misfolded protein
Polish:
prion
— misfolded protein
Portuguese:
prião
— misfolded protein
Portuguese:
príon
— misfolded protein
Romanian:
prion
— misfolded protein
Russian:
прио́н
(prión)
— misfolded protein
Spanish:
prion
— misfolded protein
Tamil:
புரதப்பீழை
(puratappīḻai)
— misfolded protein
Ukrainian:
пріо́н
(prión)
— misfolded protein
Bulgarian:
вълнолюбка
(vǎlnoljubka)
— type of petrel
Catalan:
petrell prió
— type of petrel
Finnish:
prioni
— type of petrel
Russian:
китовая пти́чка
(kitovaja ptíčka)
— type of petrel
