infective

[ in-fek-tiv ]

/ ɪnˈfɛk tɪv /

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See synonyms for infective on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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Origin of infective

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word infectīvus.See infect, -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM infective

in·fec·tive·ness, in·fec·tiv·i·ty, nounun·in·fec·tive, adjective

Words nearby infective

infectious disease, infectious diseases, infectious hepatitis, infectious laryngotracheitis, infectious mononucleosis, infective, infecund, infelicitous, infelicity, infer, inference

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use infective in a sentence

But this patient was a doctor who had been treating people with Ebola in a facility awash with hyper-infective fluids.
From Ebola Country to NYC’s Subways|Michael Daly|October 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That in the bacilli we have … the actual infective cause of tuberculosis.
When TB Was a Death Sentence: An Excerpt From ‘The Remedy’|Thomas Goetz|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are other infective diseases, in which we have not yet found the causative micro-organism, but we presume its existence.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
In acute cases of salpingitis the cœlomic ostium is open and the infective material can be seen leaking from it (Fig. 3).
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)|Various

The cause is always the absorption of some toxic or infective material from the periphery.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 2|Various
Abscess in the spleen occasionally occurs, usually in association with infective endocarditis or with general pyaemia.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 2|Various
He showed further, that by having been bred in the tissues of the cow, the virus lost its intense infective properties for man.
The Popular Science Monthly, June, 1900|Various

British Dictionary definitions for infective

infective

/ (ɪnˈfɛktɪv) /

adjective

capable of causing infection

a less common word for infectious

Derived forms of infective

infectively, adverbinfectiveness or infectivity, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

infective

Origin of infective

OTHER WORDS FROM infective

Words nearby infective

Words related to infective

How to use infective in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for infective

Derived forms of infective