infection

[in-fek-shuhn]

noun

1. an act or fact of infecting; state of being infected.

2. an infecting with germs of disease, as through the medium of infected insects, air, water, or clothing.

3. an infecting agency or influence.

4. an infectious disease.

   Is this infection very dangerous?

5. the condition of suffering an infection.

6. corruption of another's opinions, beliefs, moral principles, etc.; moral contamination.

7. an influence or impulse passing from one to another and affecting feeling or action.

8. Grammar.,  (in Celtic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel; umlaut.

infection

/ ɪnˈfɛkʃən /

noun

1. invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms

2. the resulting condition in the tissues

3. an infectious disease

4. the act of infecting or state of being infected

5. an agent or influence that infects

6. persuasion or corruption, as by ideas, perverse influences, etc

infection

1. The invasion of the body of a human or an animal by a pathogen such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus. Infections can be localized, as in pharyngitis, or widespread as in sepsis, and are often accompanied by fever and an increased number of white blood cells. Individuals with immunodeficiency syndromes are predisposed to certain infections.

2. See also infectious disease opportunistic infection

infection

1. Invasion of the body or a body part by a pathogenic organism, which multiplies and produces harmful effects on the body's tissues.

Other Word Forms

• noninfection noun
• postinfection adjective
• preinfection noun
• reinfection noun
• subinfection noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of infection¹

1350–1400; Middle English infeccio ( u ) n < Late Latin infectiōn- (stem of infectiō ). See infect, -ion

Example Sentences

A rise of just 2C was enough to turn what would normally be a deadly human-origin influenza infection into a mild one.

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She died of an infection, Group B Strep.

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After developing symptoms of a chest infection on the first day, she was given antibiotics at a medical centre.

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Yellow fever is a mosquito-borne infection that can severely damage the liver and is potentially fatal.

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It said it continued to explore the source of the infection.

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Related Words

• bug 
• disease 
• epidemic 
• flu 
• pollution 
• virus