viral

[ vahy-ruhl ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or caused by a virus.
2. pertaining to or involving the spreading of information and opinions about a product or service from person to person, especially on the internet or in emails: viral marketing.

   a clever viral ad.

3. becoming very popular by circulating quickly from person to person, especially through the internet:

   the most memorable viral videos;

   This book is already viral two weeks before its official publication date.

4. pertaining to a computer virus.

viral

/ ˈvaɪrəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or caused by a virus
2. (of a video, image, story, etc) spread quickly and widely among internet users via social networking sites, e-mail, etc

Other Words From

• anti·viral adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of viral¹

First recorded in 1935–40; vir(us) + -al ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. go viral, to spread rapidly via the internet, email, or other media:

   Footage of the candidate's off-color remarks went viral within minutes.

Example Sentences

The post How TheSoul Publishing grew revenue via platforms with viral social media life hacks appeared first on Digiday.

From Digiday

The new button could also potentially drive significant traffic to Whisk — especially if a particular recipe went viral — like the “TikTok Pasta” videos have in recent days.

From TechCrunch

In an analysis of viral misinformation on Facebook last year, Avaaz found that 20 percent of Spanish-language posts received warning labels, compared with 70 percent in English.

From Washington Post

As the Hollywood Reporter noted, Carano was slated to star in her own “Star Wars” spinoff, but Disney scrapped the idea after her November tweets on the election and coronavirus went viral.

From Washington Post

In the years that followed, several stunt videos featuring the company’s robots have gone viral, showing them dancing, sprinting and performing tricks.

From Washington Post

That video of you doing all the New York impressions went viral.

From The Daily Beast

Brooklyn musician Bobby Shmurda, whose ‘Shmoney Dance’ went viral, was arrested today on ‘gang conspiracy’ charges, police said.

From The Daily Beast

Despite the acclaim and the viral popularity, the band has never lost that independant creative spirit.

From The Daily Beast

The clip received heaps of Internet criticism after it went viral, and has since been pulled down from state channels.

From The Daily Beast

The very nature of going “viral” is that it requires the content to be instantly, freely shareable.

From The Daily Beast

Secondary invaders and pus-forming bacteria follow the viral destruction of the lung tissue and form abscesses.

From Project Gutenberg