infect
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle French infect, from Latin infectus, perfect passive participle of inficiō (“dye, taint”).
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
infect (third-person singular simple present infects, present participle infecting, simple past and past participle infected)
- (transitive) To bring (the body or part of it) into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen), so that the pathogen begins to act on the body; (of a pathogen) to come into contact with (a body or body part) and begin to act on it.
- Not everyone will be infected when an epidemic strikes.
- 2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:
- Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola.
- (transitive) To contaminate (an object or substance) with a pathogen.
- (transitive) To make somebody enthusiastic about one's own passion.
- Her passion for dancing has infected me.
AntonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
to bring into contact with a substance that causes illness
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to make somebody enthusiastic about one's own passion
AdjectiveEdit
infect (not comparable)
- (obsolete) Infected.
- 1602, William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, I. iii. 187:
- And in the imitation of these twain, / Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns / With an imperial voice, many are infect.
- 1602, William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, I. iii. 187:
AnagramsEdit
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
infect (feminine singular infecte, masculine plural infects, feminine plural infectes)
SynonymsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “infect” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).