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

Example Sentences

They play a vital role in the ecosystem, eating rodents, such as ground squirrels, that often carry diseases such as hantavirus, plague and Lyme disease.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Growth drivers include increasing chronic kidney disease prevalence, better affordability supported by public health programs, and rising disposable incomes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

"The low case numbers make it difficult to research the disease and present some obstacles in our urgent search for effective therapies," explains Markus Schuelke.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

Each year in the UK, there are around 100,000 hospital admissions due to heart attacks, another 100,000 people experience a stroke and around 350,000 people live with peripheral arterial disease.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

By midmorning Monday, I had Katie Knowles believing that I suffer from a terrible disease.

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

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