venereal
Americanadjective
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arising from, connected with, or transmitted through sexual intercourse, as an infection.
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pertaining to conditions so arising.
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infected with or suffering from a sexually transmitted disease.
a venereal patient.
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adapted to the cure of such disease.
a venereal remedy.
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of or relating to sexual desire or intercourse.
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serving or tending to excite sexual desire; aphrodisiac.
adjective
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of, relating to, or infected with venereal disease
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(of a disease) transmitted by sexual intercourse
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of, relating to, or involving the genitals
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of or relating to sexual intercourse or erotic desire; aphrodisiac
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of venereal
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin venere ( us ) of sexual love ( vener-, stem of venus sexual charm ( see Venus) + -eus adj. suffix) + -al 1
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.
But the new research indicates that congenital infection by itself may not be enough to distinguish venereal syphilis from other diseases caused by related treponemal bacteria.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Three years earlier, while pursuing graduate work in history, Buxtun had taken a job at the local Public Health Service office in 1965; he was tasked with tracking venereal disease cases in the Bay Area.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 24, 2022
In 1926, the federal government eliminated federal aid to the states to prevent venereal disease, while state appropriations for this purpose declined.
From Salon ● Jul. 16, 2022
Unlike the pilfering Bellow, Hemingway and Sebald evoked by Barliant, Mann showed a gift for unsolicited largess — endowing his fellow expatriate Arnold Schoenberg with a fictional venereal disease.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2021
We have as much distaste for talking about personal death as for thinking about it; it is an indelicacy, like talking in mixed company about venereal disease or abortion in the old days.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
