malaria

[muh-lair-ee-uh]

noun

1. Pathology.,  any of a group of diseases, usually intermittent or remittent, characterized by attacks of chills, fever, and sweating: formerly supposed to be due to swamp exhalations but now known to be caused by a parasitic protozoan, which is transferred to the human bloodstream by a mosquito of the genus Anopheles and which occupies and destroys red blood cells.

2. Archaic.,  unwholesome or poisonous air.

malaria

/ məˈlɛərɪə /

noun

1. an infectious disease characterized by recurring attacks of chills and fever, caused by the bite of an anopheles mosquito infected with any of four protozoans of the genus Plasmodium ( P. vivax, P. falciparum, P. malariae, or P. ovale )

malaria

1. An infectious disease of tropical areas caused by the parasitic infection of red blood cells by a protozoan of the genus Plasmodium, which is transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito. Malaria is characterized by recurrent episodes of chills, fever, sweating, and anemia and is endemic in Africa, Central America, and much of Southern Asia and northern South America.

malaria

1. An infectious disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. Persons suffering from malaria experience periodic episodes of chills and fever.

Other Word Forms

• malarial adjective
• malarian adjective
• malarious adjective
• nonmalarial adjective
• nonmalarian adjective
• nonmalarious adjective
• postmalarial adjective
• pseudomalaria noun
• unmalarial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of malaria¹

1730–40; < Italian, contraction of mala aria bad air

Word History and Origins

Origin of malaria¹

C18: from Italian mala aria bad air, from the belief that the disease was caused by the unwholesome air in swampy districts

Example Sentences

More than 3.7 million people died from illnesses related to obesity or being overweight globally in 2021 -- more than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV combined, according to the World Health Organization.

Read more on Barron's

This is equivalent to most of Africa's yearly infrastructure needs, or more than twice the investment required to shrink malaria cases by 90 percent.

Read more on Barron's

Plans had changed, unexpected houseguests had arrived, hosts had suddenly contracted malaria, dangerous tornadoes were expected—the excuses piled on.

Read more on Literature

The research is based off data on how aid in the past has reduced deaths, especially in preventable areas such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

Read more on Barron's

Plus, genetically engineered babies, antidepressant misconceptions and the first new malaria drug in years, in this issue of the WSJ Health newsletter.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When To Use

What is malaria?

Malaria is the collective name of a potentially fatal group of diseases caused by parasitic organisms spread through bites of a particular mosquito.Symptoms of malaria include periods of fever, chills, and sweating followed by respiratory problems and organ failure and, finally, death. Malaria is preventable and, if it’s caught early, it is curable.Malaria is caused by a parasitic, microscopic organism known as a protozoan. At least four members of the genus Plasmodium are known to cause malaria in humans. These are P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, and P. vivax. P.knowlesi may also cause malaria.These protozoa enter the bloodstream through a bite from several different species of female mosquitoes from the genus Anopheles. The protozoa are more likely to live inside a mosquito with a long life and are more likely to enter humans if the mosquito has a tendency to bite humans instead of animals.The majority of species of Anopheles mosquitoes that fit both categories are native to Africa. For this reason, over 90 percent of the world’s malaria cases occur in Africa. In 2018, there were 228 million cases of malaria, with 405 thousand deaths.