noun. A small molecule that reacts with a specific antibody but cannot induce the formation of antibodies unless bound to a carrier protein or other large antigenic molecule.

noun. Any small molecule that can elicit an immune response only when attached to a large carrier such as a protein.

"I made the observation that random bred animals immunized with antigens with restricted heterogeneity, such as hapten conjugates of poly L-lysine distribute themselves into two groups, responders and nonresponders."

haptenic  haptenization  haptenize  

urushiol  

haptene