infection

[ in-fek-shuh n ]

/ ɪnˈfɛk ʃən /

noun

an act or fact of infecting; state of being infected.

an infecting with germs of disease, as through the medium of infected insects, air, water, or clothing.

an infecting agency or influence.

an infectious disease: Is this infection very dangerous?

the condition of suffering an infection.

corruption of another's opinions, beliefs, moral principles, etc.; moral contamination.

an influence or impulse passing from one to another and affecting feeling or action.

Grammar. (in Celtic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel; umlaut.

Nearby words

infauna, infeasible, infect, infected abortion, infectee, infection, infection immunity, infection-exhaustion psychosis, infectious, infectious anemia of horses, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis

Origin of infection

1350–1400; Middle English infeccio(u)n < Late Latin infectiōn- (stem of infectiō). See infect, -ion

Related forms

non·in·fec·tion, nounpost·in·fec·tion, adjectivepre·in·fec·tion, nounre·in·fec·tion, noun

sub·in·fec·tion, noun

Can be confused

infection inflection

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for subinfection

infection

/ (ɪnˈfɛkʃən) /

noun

invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms

the resulting condition in the tissues

an infectious disease

the act of infecting or state of being infected

an agent or influence that infects

persuasion or corruption, as by ideas, perverse influences, etc

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

Medicine definitions for subinfection (1 of 2)

subinfection

[ sŭb′ĭn-fĕk′shən ]

n.

A secondary infection occurring in a person exposed to and successfully resisting another infectious disease.

Medicine definitions for subinfection (2 of 2)

infection

[ ĭn-fĕk′shən ]

n.

Invasion by and multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms in a bodily part or tissue, which may produce subsequent tissue injury and progress to overt disease through a variety of cellular or toxic mechanisms.

An instance of being infected.

An agent or a contaminated substance responsible for one's becoming infected.

The pathological state resulting from having been infected.

An infectious disease.

Science definitions for subinfection

infection

[ ĭn-fĕk′shən ]

The invasion of the body of a human or an animal by a pathogen such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus. Infections can be localized, as in pharyngitis, or widespread as in sepsis, and are often accompanied by fever and an increased number of white blood cells. Individuals with immunodeficiency syndromes are predisposed to certain infections. See also infectious disease opportunistic infection.

Culture definitions for subinfection

infection

Invasion of the body or a body part by a pathogenic organism, which multiplies and produces harmful effects on the body's tissues.