infection

[ in-fek-shuhn ]

noun

1. an act or fact of infecting; state of being infected.
2. an infecting with germs of disease, as through the medium of infected insects, air, water, or clothing.
3. an infecting agency or influence.
4. an infectious disease:

   Is this infection very dangerous?

5. the condition of suffering an infection.
6. corruption of another's opinions, beliefs, moral principles, etc.; moral contamination.
7. an influence or impulse passing from one to another and affecting feeling or action.
8. Grammar. (in Celtic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel; umlaut.

infection

/ ɪnˈfɛkʃən /

noun

1. invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms
2. the resulting condition in the tissues
3. an infectious disease
4. the act of infecting or state of being infected
5. an agent or influence that infects
6. persuasion or corruption, as by ideas, perverse influences, etc

infection

/ ĭn-fĕk′shən /

1. The invasion of the body of a human or an animal by a pathogen such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus. Infections can be localized, as in pharyngitis , or widespread as in sepsis , and are often accompanied by fever and an increased number of white blood cells. Individuals with immunodeficiency syndromes are predisposed to certain infections.
2. See also infectious disease

infection

1. Invasion of the body or a body part by a pathogenic organism, which multiplies and produces harmful effects on the body's tissues.

Other Words From

• nonin·fection noun
• postin·fection adjective
• prein·fection noun
• rein·fection noun
• subin·fection noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of infection¹

1350–1400; Middle English infeccio ( u ) n < Late Latin infectiōn- (stem of infectiō ). See infect, -ion

Example Sentences

More than 1 million people succumb to drug-resistant infections every year, and the death toll could reach nearly 2 million per year by 2050.

From Salon

All of these infections occurred in farmworkers who came into contact with infected cows or poultry, except one case in Missouri in which health officials could not track the origins of the infection.

From Salon

She was forced to give up her business, and an infection during chemotherapy damaged her vocal cords, reducing her voice to a whisper.

From BBC

The causes of neurodegenerative diseases are largely mysterious, but the current thinking is that they involve inflammation, a normal function of the immune system that is usually short-lived in response to infections or wounds.

From Science Daily

A research paper titled "Targeted recruitment of immune effector cells for rapid eradication of influenza virus infections" has been published in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• bug
• disease
• epidemic
• flu
• pollution
• virus