smallpox
[ smawl-poks ]
/ ˈsmɔlˌpɒks /
|
noun Pathology.
an acute, highly contagious, febrile disease, caused by the variola virus, and characterized by a pustular eruption that often leaves permanent pits or scars: eradicated worldwide by vaccination programs.
Nearby words
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for smallpox
British Dictionary definitions for smallpox
smallpox
/ (ˈsmɔːlˌpɒks) /
noun
an acute highly contagious viral disease characterized by high fever, severe prostration, and a pinkish rash changing in form from papules to pustules, which dry up and form scabs that are cast off, leaving pitted depressionsTechnical name: variola Related adjective: variolous
Word Origin for smallpox
C16: from small + pox . So called to distinguish it from the Great Pox, an archaic name for syphilis
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Medicine definitions for smallpox
smallpox
[ smôl′pŏks′ ]
n.
An acute, highly infectious, often fatal disease caused by a poxvirus and characterized by high fever and aches with subsequent widespread eruption of papules that blister, produce pus, and form scabs that leave permanent pockmarks.variola
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for smallpox
smallpox
[ smôl′pŏks′ ]
A highly infectious and often fatal disease caused by the variola virus of the genus Orthopoxvirus and characterized by fever, headache, and severely inflamed skin sores that result in extensive scarring. Once a dreaded killer of children that caused the deaths of millions of Native Americans after the arrival of European settlers in the Americas, smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980 following a worldwide vaccination campaign. Samples of the virus have been preserved in laboratories in the United States and Russia. Also called variola See Note at Jenner.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Culture definitions for smallpox
smallpox
An acute and infectious disease caused by a virus and now almost completely eradicated. Smallpox was characterized by high fever and large sores on the body that leave scars.
Note
A surface with many blemishes is sometimes said to be “pockmarked” because it resembles the skin of a smallpox sufferer.
Note
Smallpox is the first disease of humans to be completely eradicated by a worldwide campaign of inoculation.
Note
Today, the smallpox virus exists only in laboratories.
Note
The use of smallpox is a major concern in the area of bioterrorism (see also bioterrorism).
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.