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:
There are still reports of West Nile, Zika and Chikungunya, plus the potential introductions of Chagas and rat lungworm disease.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Hispanic older adults face a disproportionate burden of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Foley, however, cautioned that trying to pinpoint any one factor of disease growth is probably shortsighted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
More than a billion people around the world are living with obesity, a condition that raises the risk of diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
Her mom from a disease called ovarian cancer, when Mom was sixteen, and her dad in a car accident two years later.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
We are likely to see more of these diseases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
More than a billion people around the world are living with obesity, a condition that raises the risk of diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
Consulting firm ZS has built tools for drugmakers designed to screen patients who may have rare diseases, said Bill Coyle, ZS’s region managing principal for Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
One possibility would be to engineer immune cells so they could target and break down amyloid and tau aggregates associated with neurodegenerative diseases.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
It was, in reality, the result of multiple and rare diseases contracted on his innumerable trips around the world.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
In particular, they’re examining how bacteria from diseased gums, and the immune response they trigger, may contribute to conditions including heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, arthritis, respiratory disease and chronic liver disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 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
In a study of mice, they found that a brain protein called Arc, which normally helps neurons communicate, also appears to help toxic Tau spread from diseased brain cells to healthy ones.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026
On April 24, 29 people—and the body of the diseased passenger—disembarked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
It’s supposed to be so we won’t slip her any contraband, but it always feels like they’re saying she’s diseased or something.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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
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
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.
