infectious
Americanadjective
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communicable by infection, as from one person to another or from one part of the body to another.
infectious diseases.
- Synonyms:
- catching
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causing or communicating infection.
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tending to spread from one to another.
infectious laughter.
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Law. capable of contaminating with illegality; exposing to seizure or forfeiture.
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Obsolete. diseased.
adjective
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(of a disease) capable of being transmitted Compare contagious
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(of a disease) caused by microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, or protozoa
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causing or transmitting infection
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tending or apt to spread, as from one person to another
infectious mirth
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international law
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tainting or capable of tainting with illegality
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rendering liable to seizure or forfeiture
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Related Words
See contagious.
Other Word Forms
- infectiously adverb
- infectiousness noun
- noninfectious adjective
- noninfectiously adverb
- noninfectiousness noun
- uninfectious adjective
- uninfectiously adverb
- uninfectiousness noun
Etymology
Origin of infectious
First recorded in 1535–45; infect(ion) + -ious
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.
Experiments in mice showed that Migrions are far more infectious than free virus particles.
From Science Daily
It stars Seth Rogen and his infectious chuckle as the pig Napoleon.
The joy they find in this work is infectious, and I loved this movie beyond measure.
Leprosy, he told them, is one of the least contagious of all infectious diseases; he’d never caught it himself.
On hearing the infectious, behind-the-beat vocals of, for example, Mavis Staples and family on “I’ll Take You There,” music makers from a broadening spectrum wanted some of that.
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.
