Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

septicemia

American  
[sep-tuh-see-mee-uh] / ˌsɛp təˈsi mi ə /
Or septicaemia

noun

Pathology.
  1. the invasion and persistence of pathogenic bacteria in the blood-stream.


Other Word Forms

  • septicaemic adjective
  • septicemic adjective

Etymology

Origin of septicemia

From New Latin, dating back to 1865–70; septic, -emia

Vocabulary lists containing septicemia

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.

There’s also a reference to septicemia, which is writer-director Emerald Fennell’s perhaps too-technical stab at explaining the nonspecific Victorian disease that afflicts one character.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

When given orally to mice with drug-resistant septicemia or pneumonia, lolamicin rescued 100% of the mice with septicemia and 70% of the mice with pneumonia, the team reported.

From Science Daily • May 29, 2024

Bisgaard taxon 45 is related to another bacterium, called Pasteurella multocida, that can cause septicemia in cattle and was linked to the death of 200,000 endangered saiga antelope in Kazakhstan in 2015.

From National Geographic • Dec. 5, 2023

Her vital signs had reassured him she wasn’t suffering from septicemia — a bacterial infection reaching the bloodstream.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2021

It won’t be tetanus, as they inoculated us, but may be septicemia; I don’t think those pins were very clean.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein