Infect

/ɪnˈfɛkt/ · verb

Meaning

(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..

Definitions by Sense

1. (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.
2. (transitive) To contaminate (an object or substance) with a pathogen.
3. (transitive) To make somebody enthusiastic about one's own passion, or to communicate a feeling to others, or a feeling communicating itself to others.
4. (obsolete) Infected.
5. (rare, grammar, of a tense or verb form) Representing an action not yet completed.

Example Sentences

Not everyone will be infected when an epidemic strikes.

Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola.

Ms. Tang’s inevitable contact with people who are ill has started to worry her. It did not help when she learned that someone living in a building near her own, in Siu Sai Wan, had been infected by the virus.

Her passion for dancing has infected me.

Guido, by way of diverting the embarrassment which seemed to infect them all, began to unfasten the packet of letters.

And in the imitation of these twain, / Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns / With an imperial voice, many are infect.

Synonyms for infect

Antonyms for infect

Related Words

Word Forms

• infects
• infecting
• infected

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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