disease
Americannoun
-
diseases
plural
-
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
-
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.
-
any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society.
His fascination with executions is a disease.
-
decomposition of a material under special circumstances.
tin disease.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
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
-
a corresponding condition in plants
-
any situation or condition likened to this
the disease of materialism
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing disease
Ecology - Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Ecology - Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems - Middle School and High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Workshop 5, Part 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The rootstock forms the roots and lower trunk and helps determine how well the tree withstands disease and its environment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
The state public health department urged Californians to make sure they are vaccinated against measles — noting the disease is spreading in other parts of the country and the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Graham, 71, died on 11 July of an "aortic dissection" caused by cardiovascular disease shortly after returning from a trip to Kyiv.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Earlier research has suggested that anticoagulant treatment may lower the risk of developing dementia, but far less is known about whether these drugs influence cognitive decline after Alzheimer's disease has already been diagnosed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Breaking these rules can create significant backlash for the Carville administration and from the public, who still carry a deep-seated fear of the disease.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Insurance companies will ask about family history, including whether relatives have suffered from dementia, and at what age; ditto for heart disease, among other age-related diseases.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
For many diseases, it is impossible or impracticable to collect detailed, local-level prevalence data.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Because these immune hubs sit directly next to the brain, researchers believe they could eventually provide a way to influence immune activity in neurological diseases without broadly affecting the rest of the body.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Forensic pathologist Dr Louise Mulcahy said due to the limited remains, it was impossible to test if the child had any natural diseases or if he had been poisoned.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
My specific focus is on infectious diseases and their role in spatial teleportation.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
"Farmers may unknowingly buy diseased plants. The trees may look healthy initially, but after five or seven years they can suddenly die, causing huge financial losses," he says.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Cells in the diseased livers had started moving away from their mature state and toward the regenerative state, but they were unable to finish the transition.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
In particular, they’re examining how bacteria from diseased gums, and the immune response they trigger, may contribute to conditions including heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, arthritis, respiratory disease and chronic liver disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Wacky animal sidekicks once felt vibrant in a holistic world of artifice; here, a goggle-eyed rooster just looks diseased.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
The Maafa lurked just offshore, squat and ugly in the shallows like a diseased leviathan that had washed into the bay.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
They provide for your wants, hearken to your complaints, nurture you in sickness, with a diseasing fondness, and so render you incapable.
From Charlemont; Or, the Pride of the Village. a Tale of Kentucky by William Gilmore Simms
In either case we have diabetes, the sugar irritating and diseasing the kidneys as it passes.”
From Alcohol: A Dangerous and Unnecessary Medicine, How and Why What Medical Writers Say by Martha Meir Allen
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.
