infect
Americanverb (used with object)
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to affect or contaminate (a person, organ, wound, etc.) with disease-producing germs.
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to affect with disease.
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to taint or contaminate with something that affects quality, character, or condition unfavorably.
to infect the air with poison gas.
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to corrupt or affect morally.
The news of the gold strike infected him with greed.
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to imbue with some pernicious belief, opinion, etc.
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to affect with a computer virus.
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to affect so as to influence feeling or action.
His courage infected the others.
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Law. to taint with illegality, or expose to penalty, forfeiture, etc.
verb (used without object)
adjective
verb
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to cause infection in; contaminate (an organism, wound, etc) with pathogenic microorganisms
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(also intr) to affect or become affected with a communicable disease
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to taint, pollute, or contaminate
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to affect, esp adversely, as if by contagion
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computing to affect with a computer virus
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international law to taint with crime or illegality; expose to penalty or subject to forfeiture
adjective
Usage
What does infect mean? Infect is a verb that means to taint someone or something with disease-causing germs or to spread a disease to another living thing, as in The doorknob was infected with disease-causing bacteria. Infect can also mean to taint something in a way that negatively affects quality, as in The water was infected with toxic chemicals. Computers and other devices that connect to the internet can also become infected. Instead of a virus of living organisms infecting your computer, though, bits of code attack your computer system to do harm.Infect is also used figuratively to mean to corrupt something in various ways. It can mean something was corrupted morally, as in The constant flattery caused him to be infected with hubris. Infect can also be used to mean someone has been corrupted by harmful thoughts or beliefs, as in He allowed hatred to infect his mind. The adjective infectious is used to mean something is capable of infecting things, as in Doctors worked to stop the spread of the infectious disease. Infect can be confused with infest, which means to overrun a place or live there in an unwanted manner.Example: Tia stayed home from school so she wouldn’t infect her classmates with the flu.
Other Word Forms
- infectant adjective
- infectedness noun
- infecter noun
- infector noun
- noninfected adjective
- noninfecting adjective
- preinfect verb (used with object)
- reinfect verb (used with object)
- uninfected adjective
Etymology
Origin of infect
1350–1400; Middle English infecten < Latin infectus (past participle of inficere to immerse in dye, discolor, taint, poison), equivalent to in- in- 2 + -fec-, combining form of facere to do 1, make ( fact ) + -tus past participle suffix
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.
Though many who are infected make a full recovery, young children, elderly people, pregnant women and people with existing conditions or a weakened immune system can experience severe symptoms and suffer potentially life-threatening complications.
From BBC
Since then, the virus has moved beyond wild birds, spreading into farm animals and eventually infecting people.
From Science Daily
According to the NHS website, some types of worms - caught in both the UK and abroad - can infect people in different ways.
From BBC
TB is spread through the air when an infected person speaks, coughs or sings and a nearby person breathes in the germs.
From Los Angeles Times
German scientists warned that pathogens from infected corpses or the metallic remains of implants could be released into the ground.
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.
