disease

American  

[dih-zeez] / dɪˈziz /

noun

diseases plural

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

Derived Forms

• diseasedness
  noun
• diseasedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• diseases
  plural

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

About 1 out of 10 people who develop severe West Nile virus disease affecting the brain and nervous system die.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026

In December 2014 nurse Pauline Cafferkey, from Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, fell ill with the disease after arriving back in the UK from Sierra Leone.

From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026

But attempts to contain the spread of the disease add to supply-chain complications that make shipping beef more expensive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026

Although blocking Arc might sound like an obvious treatment strategy, the researchers discovered that the protein also performs an important protective role during the early stages of disease.

From Science Daily • Jun. 30, 2026

Lice carried an infectious disease called trench fever, characterized by chills and high fever, which put thousands of men out of action.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

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