variolates
/ˈvɛriəˌleɪts/
verb
- To inoculate someone with the smallpox virus (variola) to produce a mild case and induce immunity.
- The traveler was variolated before leaving for the region where smallpox was still common.
- In the 18th century, doctors variolated patients by scratching pus from a smallpox blister into their skin.
- Before the smallpox vaccine was invented, some communities variolated their members to reduce the risk of severe outbreaks.