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

The 65-year-old Coulier told People Magazine that he received his diagnosis after an infection caused swelling in his lymph nodes.

From Salon

Adkins builds on a line of cases involving women like Kate Cox, a Texas woman who traveled out of state to seek an abortion after receiving a diagnosis of trisomy 18, a fetal condition that is usually fatal; and Amanda Zurawski, also from Texas, who suffered the preterm rupture of membranes, a condition that led to a severe infection that almost killed her.

From Slate

To find out, you need to replicate; do something over and over again, varying the temperature, water pH, bacterial infection, and more, to find out which of the many options is causing the shrimp decline.

From Slate

But PSA levels can be high for a variety of reasons - including an enlarged prostate, inflammation or infection, recent vigorous exercise or sex - or remain normal despite cancer.

From BBC

Queen Camilla missed the Gladiator II screening, as she recovers from a chest infection.

From BBC

Related Words

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