pathogenic

[path-uh-jen-ik]

adjective

1. Pathology.,  capable of producing disease.

   pathogenic bacteria.

pathogenic

/ ˌpæθəˈdʒɛnɪk /

adjective

1. able to cause or produce disease

   pathogenic bacteria

pathogenic

1. A descriptive term for a thing or condition that can cause disease.

Other Word Forms

• antipathogenic adjective
• nonpathogenic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pathogenic¹

First recorded in 1850–55; patho- + -genic

Example Sentences

Prof Wallace chose it automatically because certain strains of E. coli that aren't pathogenic are used extensively in biotechnology and engineering biology laboratories to test whether something might work.

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In Kerala, public health laboratories can now detect the five major pathogenic types, officials say.

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In the past three years, outbreaks of bird flu, formally called highly pathogenic avian influenza, in wild animals spilled over to dairy cows and poultry, infecting several dozen humans and even killing one American.

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"There is not necessarily grounds to fear that the viruses in the frozen environment are more pathogenic."

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A new strain of a highly pathogenic bird flu known as H7N9 has surfaced at a poultry farm in Mississippi where chickens are raised for breeding.

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