The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ANTIGEN
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
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More clues leading to the result ANTIGEN
- Inclined to withhold information, maybe, for component of medicine?
- Biological substance — a collection of books has current information
- Toxin, an element feasting on skin of grape
- Toxin perhaps in plant I generally cut down
- Foreign agent in toxin, perhaps?
- Neat gin? Surprisingly, it can stimulate an immune response
- Opposed to information describing component of vaccine
- Foreign invader, colonist with current information
- … against information on what delivers immunity
- Harmful thing eating rotten chicken, ultimately
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "it can stimulate an immune response" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case it can stimulate an immune response = antigen.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ANTIGEN mean?
ANTIGEN noun- A substance that induces an immune response, usually foreign.