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

Those who became ill during the cruise included 102 of 3,032 passengers and 23 of 1,144 crew members, and they predominantly reported vomiting and diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026

On the topic of vaccines that probably should be mandatory, measles continues to wreak havoc across the U.S., with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 2,134 confirmed cases this year.

From Salon • Jun. 30, 2026

Genetic testing conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the bacteria that infected two of the infants weren’t closely genetically linked to samples found at the plant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026

Kraus, who advised the federal government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its fitness guidelines, follows his own advice.

From Barron's • Jun. 27, 2026

There’s the Merrick’s Disease, and the noises Chloe heard through the bathroom door obviously disgusted her.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

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