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:
Most deaths from the disease happen when people are in their 80s.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Both short and long sleep were linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
The Food and Drug Administration cleared a blood test for identifying Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, which was developed by Roche and Eli Lilly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
It was noted the defendant was now in poor health, had diabetes, glaucoma and impaired hearing, had previously had a heart attack and might be experiencing the onset of Parkinson's disease.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
He insisted that imposing political order on Haiti, no matter how much financial aid was provided, wouldn’t improve the problems of poverty and disease.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
They may carry deadly diseases, such as the H5N1 virus, and potentially spread them to other birds.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
The company focused instead on rare genetic diseases, where executives thought mRNA would be more likely to work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
“This tragic loss is a reminder of the serious threat posed by mosquito-borne diseases, including West Nile virus and dengue.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
It feels like vector-borne diseases are popping up everywhere these days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The boys and girls also had to prove that they were healthy and had no hereditary diseases.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
He removed the tumour and part of the diseased jawbone, but the electrochemotherapy was administered to target any remaining cancerous cells.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 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
One promising possibility would be to intercept Tau containing extracellular vesicles after they leave diseased neurons but before they reach healthy ones.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026
And just four years earlier, she had had a procedure that she thought would take care of her heart problem—a diseased aortic valve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Rasseem shouted back, “Your ears are worse than your diseased donkey, Samir.”
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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
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
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.
