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.

---

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

---

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

Example Sentences

McMichael died April 23, 2025, after a five-year battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

"The more we can improve peoples' diets, the more we may be able to protect people from succumbing to disease."

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

Viridian Therapeutics stock fell Monday following Amgen’s positive Phase 3 trial results for its thyroid eye disease treatment.

From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026

One issue for patients with the disease is that they struggle to maintain healthy blood pressure and blood sugar.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

I was, of course, sorry there was so much poverty and disease in Haiti, and I admired Farmer for his work, but I also felt that I couldn’t be sorry enough to satisfy him.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

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