Scientific Terms That Lost Their Hyphens
The English language constantly evolves. The way we use words changes. New words are created. Old words disappear.
The same is true for science words. When first introduced, some scientific or medical terms contain hyphens that help the reader understand the new words. But over time, those hyphens disappear.
Here are 25 words that have evolved to lose their hyphens.
Antioxidant
Antiviral
Coauthor
Coexist
Cofactor
Coinvestigator
Downregulation
Dysregulation
Knockdown
Nonexposed
Noninfectious
Nonprofit
Overexpose
Overexpression
Postinfection
Postinfectious
Postnatal
Posttranscriptional
Posttranslational
Posttreatment
Preclinical
Preexisting
Preinfection
Reexpress
Upregulation
Want free tools and templates to help you enhance your scientific and medical writing? Get access to our free writing toolkit!