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

As a result of this damage, bees lose weight, become more vulnerable to disease, and have shorter lifespans.

From Science Daily • Apr. 20, 2026

Alopecia areata is a disease in which a patient’s own immune system attacks hair follicles.

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

A highly mutated COVID-19 strain is circulating in California — raising concerns that disease activity could rise heading into the summer.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

And they were unaware, or unconcerned, that that chemical was wreaking havoc on the soil, weakening the trees’ defenses, leaving them extremely vulnerable to disease.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

“The third king breathed on a basket of wheat. His disease blew away with the chaff. This is why wheat chaff is able to give people tuberculosis.”

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Related Words

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