disease

American  

[dih-zeez] / dɪˈziz /

noun

1. a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment.

   Synonyms:

   malady, disorder, infirmity, indisposition, distemper, derangement, complaint, morbidity

   Antonyms:

   health

2. any abnormal condition in a plant that interferes with its vital physiological processes, caused by pathogenic microorganisms, parasites, unfavorable environmental, genetic, or nutritional factors, etc.

3. any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society.

   His fascination with executions is a disease.

4. decomposition of a material under special circumstances.

   tin disease.

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verb (used with object)

diseased, diseasing

1. to affect with disease; make ill.

   Antonyms:

   cure

disease British  

/ dɪˈziːz /

noun

1. any impairment of normal physiological function affecting all or part of an organism, esp a specific pathological change caused by infection, stress, etc, producing characteristic symptoms; illness or sickness in general

2. a corresponding condition in plants

3. any situation or condition likened to this

   the disease of materialism

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Other Word Forms

• diseasedly adverb
• diseasedness noun

Etymology

Origin of disease

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English disese, from Anglo-French dese(a)se, disaise; dis- ¹ + ease

Explanation

A disease is a health condition that has a specific set of symptoms and traits — such as malaria or heart disease. Disease is not always about the human body being sick. Plants and animals are often the victims of disease. People also use the word disease in a more figurative sense to illustrate just how bad or damaging a negative influence can be — like the disease of greed among capitalists or the disease of plagiarism among college students.

Example Sentences

Gao suffers from chronic lumbar spine disease, arthritis, eye problems and chronic urticaria – a skin condition that causes itchy red welts.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

I also experienced the risky complication known as graft-versus-host disease, in which donor immune cells, even when they are a lifesaving match, attack the recipient’s body—sometimes fatally.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

McElvogue added: "I think one aspect of this that particularly worries people is that we don't know how these animals died - was it natural causes, disease or something else?"

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

“We have 55 pathways available” for different treatments, Dr. Mansi says, including pulmonary embolism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

It was the disease that stole Nate’s mama all those years ago.

From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

Related Words

• Cancer
• bug
• condition
• contamination
• defect
• disorder
• epidemic
• fever
• flu
• illness
• infection
• inflammation
• malady
• plague
• sickness
• stroke
• syndrome
• virus