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Synonyms

pathogen

American  
[path-uh-juhn, ‑-jen] / ˈpæθ ə dʒən, ‑ˌdʒɛn /

noun

  1. any disease-producing agent, especially a virus, bacterium, or other microorganism.

pathogen British  
/ ˈpæθəˌdʒiːn, ˈpæθəˌdʒɛn /

noun

  1. any agent that can cause disease

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
pathogen Scientific  
/ păth′ə-jən /

  1. An agent that causes infection or disease, especially a microorganism, such as a bacterium or protozoan, or a virus.

  2. See Note at germ

pathogen Cultural  

  1. A disease-causing agent. Microorganisms, viruses, and toxins are examples of pathogens.

Other Word Forms

  • antipathogen noun

Etymology

Origin of pathogen

First recorded in 1940–45; patho- + -gen

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

By combining genetic, archaeological, environmental, and pathogen data, the study reveals how ancient communities dealt with overlapping challenges such as climate instability, food stress, and disease.

From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2026

She added that the drugs did not provide effective coverage against a Gram-positive organism, which was the most likely pathogen causing the infection.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

The pathogen was not discovered intentionally at first.

From Science Daily • Jan. 26, 2026

We now have a much clearer picture of how humanity’s successes—population growth, food production, urbanization, globalization—have stoked pathogen evolution.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Most human groups are a scattershot mix of HLA profiles, which means that almost always some people in the group will not get sick when exposed to a particular pathogen.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.