infect

[ in-fekt ]

/ ɪnˈfɛkt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR infect ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to affect or contaminate (a person, organ, wound, etc.) with disease-producing germs.

to affect with disease.

to taint or contaminate with something that affects quality, character, or condition unfavorably: to infect the air with poison gas.

to corrupt or affect morally: The news of the gold strike infected him with greed.

to imbue with some pernicious belief, opinion, etc.

to affect with a computer virus.

to affect so as to influence feeling or action: His courage infected the others.

Law. to taint with illegality, or expose to penalty, forfeiture, etc.

verb (used without object)

to become infected.

adjective

Archaic. infected.

Origin of infect

1350–1400; Middle English infecten < Latin infectus (past participle of inficere to immerse in dye, discolor, taint, poison), equivalent to in- in-² + -fec-, combining form of facere to do¹, make (see fact) + -tus past participle suffix

SYNONYMS FOR infect

5 damage, corrupt.

6 touch, stir, arouse.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR infect ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM infect

in·fect·ant, adjective in·fect·ed·ness, noun in·fec·tor, in·fect·er, noun non·in·fect·ed, adjective

non·in·fect·ing, adjective pre·in·fect, verb (used with object) re·in·fect, verb (used with object) un·in·fect·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH infect

afflict infect inflict infect infest invest

Words nearby infect

infatuate, infatuated, infatuation, infauna, infeasible, infect, infected abortion, infectee, infection, infection immunity, infection-exhaustion psychosis

Example sentences from the Web for infect

While the bats are infected, they shed large quantities of virus that can infect other animals.

Bats’ Link to Ebola Finally Solved |Carrie Arnold |November 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Ebola Reston, it seemed, could infect humans, but never became symptomatic.

Already Deadly in Africa, Could Ebola Hit America Next? |Scott Bixby |April 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They had to infect the perfectly adequate data with the totally improbable idea of a 400-year-old heirloom elk antler tool.

Incontrovertible Evidence Proves the First Americans Came From Asia |Doug Peacock |March 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy.

Pro-Israel Group Attacks New York Times' Iran Correspondent |Ali Gharib |August 5, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Have you wondered how the U.S. managed to infect Iranian computers?

Obama Leaks for Votes |David Frum |June 2, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
With our silent, evil thoughts we can infect others; we can transfer our evil purposes to others who execute them.

Fair Haven and Foul Strand |August Strindberg
The boy's awkwardness seems to infect her, too, for a moment.

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 92, June, 1865 |Various
A tubercular woman should not nurse her infant because she will infect it and exhaust herself.

The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation |Austin O'Malley
Perhaps we should read with for 'for,' taking 'take' in the sense of tinge, infect, a sense it often bears.

The Shakespeare-Expositor: An Aid to the Perfect Understanding of Shakespeare's Plays |Thomas Keightley
And the power of action is dead in me because the desire of life is dead,—unless you are there to infect me with it.

The Shadow of Life |Anne Douglas Sedgwick

British Dictionary definitions for infect

infect

/ (ɪnˈfɛkt) /

verb (mainly tr)

to cause infection in; contaminate (an organism, wound, etc) with pathogenic microorganisms

(also intr) to affect or become affected with a communicable disease

to taint, pollute, or contaminate

to affect, esp adversely, as if by contagion

computing to affect with a computer virus

mainly international law to taint with crime or illegality; expose to penalty or subject to forfeiture

adjective

archaic contaminated or polluted with or as if with a disease; infected

Derived forms of infect

infector or infecter, noun

Word Origin for infect

C14: from Latin inficere to dip into, stain, from facere to make

Medical definitions for infect

infect

[ ĭn-fĕkt′ ]

v.

To contaminate with a pathogenic microorganism or agent.

To communicate a pathogen or disease to another organism.

To invade and produce infection in an organ or body part.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

infect

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

adjective

Origin of infect

SYNONYMS FOR infect

OTHER WORDS FROM infect

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH infect

Words nearby infect

Example sentences from the Web for infect

British Dictionary definitions for infect

verb (mainly tr)

adjective

Derived forms of infect

Word Origin for infect

Medical definitions for infect

v.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

infect

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

adjective

Origin of infect

SYNONYMS FOR infect

OTHER WORDS FROM infect

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH infect

Words nearby infect

Words related to infect

Example sentences from the Web for infect

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for infect

verb (mainly tr)

adjective

Derived forms of infect

Word Origin for infect

Medical definitions for infect

v.

British Dictionary definitions for infect