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infect
[in-fekt]
verb (used with object)
to affect or contaminate (a person, organ, wound, etc.) with disease-producing germs.
to affect with disease.
to taint or contaminate with something that affects quality, character, or condition unfavorably.
to infect the air with poison gas.
to corrupt or affect morally.
The news of the gold strike infected him with greed.
to imbue with some pernicious belief, opinion, etc.
to affect with a computer virus.
to affect so as to influence feeling or action.
His courage infected the others.
Law., to taint with illegality, or expose to penalty, forfeiture, etc.
verb (used without object)
to become infected.
adjective
Archaic., infected.
infect
/ ɪnˈfɛkt /
verb
to cause infection in; contaminate (an organism, wound, etc) with pathogenic microorganisms
(also intr) to affect or become affected with a communicable disease
to taint, pollute, or contaminate
to affect, esp adversely, as if by contagion
computing to affect with a computer virus
international law to taint with crime or illegality; expose to penalty or subject to forfeiture
adjective
archaic, contaminated or polluted with or as if with a disease; infected
Other Word Forms
- infectant adjective
- infectedness noun
- infector noun
- infecter noun
- noninfected adjective
- noninfecting adjective
- preinfect verb (used with object)
- reinfect verb (used with object)
- uninfected adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of infect1
Example Sentences
But, perhaps most notable, only about half of the 30,000 children infected with hepatitis B got it from their mothers; the other half contracted it through casual contact, likely from other household contacts.
They include scenes of people dying after being forcibly infected by venomous fleas and of experiments to induce frostbite by leaving undressed people outside to freeze.
"I think there's people going around that don't have the slightest idea that they may have been infected due to this," he says.
It was, they suggested, an attempt to extort a ransom from the company by infecting its networks with malicious software.
With so many viruses around, you could be stuck in a lecture between two people who are sneezing, each infected with a different one.
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When To Use
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.
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