infect
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infect
affect with disease; contaminate; damage
Not to be confused with:
infest – overrun or beset: shark-infested waters
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
in·fect
(ĭn-fĕkt′)tr.v. in·fect·ed, in·fect·ing, in·fects
1. To invade and proliferate in, often resulting in disease. Used of microorganisms or other infectious agents: people who were infected with salmonella.
2. To cause the invasion of (a cell, for example) with a microorganism or other infectious agent: The researchers infected the bacteria with a virus.
3. To transmit a pathogen or disease to: The sick child infected the entire class.
4. To contaminate with a pathogenic microorganism or agent: Cholera infected the water supply.
5. Computers To become transmitted to and copied on (a hard drive, for example). Used of a virus or other harmful software.
6. To affect by transmission or be communicated to. Used of an idea, emotion, or attitude: "His fear infected me, and ... I followed as fast as I could" (W.H. Hudson).
[Middle English infecten, to afflict with disease, from Latin īnficere, īnfect-, to stain, infect (in-, in; see in-2 + facere, to do; see dhē- in Indo-European roots).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
infect
(ɪnˈfɛkt)vb (mainly tr)
1. (Pathology) to cause infection in; contaminate (an organism, wound, etc) with pathogenic microorganisms
2. (Pathology) (also intr) to affect or become affected with a communicable disease
3. to taint, pollute, or contaminate
4. to affect, esp adversely, as if by contagion
5. (Computer Science) computing to affect with a computer virus
6. (Law) chiefly international law to taint with crime or illegality; expose to penalty or subject to forfeiture
adj
archaic contaminated or polluted with or as if with a disease; infected
[C14: from Latin inficere to dip into, stain, from facere to make]
inˈfector, inˈfecter n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
in•fect
(ɪnˈfɛkt)v.t.
1. to affect or contaminate with disease-producing germs.
2. to taint or contaminate with any harmful substance: to infect the air with poison gas.
3. to corrupt or affect morally.
4. to imbue with some pernicious belief, opinion, etc.
5. to affect so as to imbue with similar feeling: His courage infected the others.
6. to affect with a computer virus.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin infectus, past participle of inficere to immerse in dye, taint, infect]
in•fect′ant, adj.
in•fect′ed•ness, n.
in•fec′tor, in•fect′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
infect
- From Latin inficere, "put in" or "dip in," which came to mean "stain, taint, spoil."See also related terms for spoil.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
infect
Past participle: infected
Gerund: infecting
| Imperative |
|---|
| infect |
| infect |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. | infect - communicate a disease to; "Your children have infected you with this head cold" canker - infect with a canker give - cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense; "She gave him a black eye"; "The draft gave me a cold" |
| 2. | infect - contaminate with a disease or microorganism superinfect - infect (an infected cell) further or infect a cell already containing similar organisms smut - affect with smut or mildew, as of a crop such as corn disinfect - destroy microorganisms or pathogens by cleansing; "disinfect a wound" | |
| 3. | infect - corrupt with ideas or an ideology; "society was infected by racism" corrupt, debase, debauch, demoralise, demoralize, deprave, misdirect, pervert, profane, vitiate, subvert - corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality; "debauch the young people with wine and women"; "Socrates was accused of corrupting young men"; "Do school counselors subvert young children?"; "corrupt the morals" | |
| 4. | infect - affect in a contagious way; "His laughter infects everyone who is in the same room" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
infect
verb
1. contaminate, transmit disease to, spread disease to or among A single mosquito can infect a large number of people.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
infect
verbThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُصيب بالعَدوى، يُدْخِل جُرْثومَه
nakazitinfikovat
inficeresmitte
fertőz
smita
infekcinisinfekciškaiužkrėstiužkrėtimas
aplipinātinficēt
okužiti
bulaştırmakgeçirmek
infect
[ɪnˈfekt] VT [+ wound, foot] → infectar; [+ person] → contagiar; [+ food] → contaminarto infect sb with sth → contagiar algo a algn
don't infect us all with your cold! → ¡no nos contagies tu resfriado a todos!, ¡no nos pegues tu resfriado a todos!
he's infected everybody with his enthusiasm → contagió su entusiasmo a todos
scientists infected mice with the disease → los científicos inocularon la enfermedad a or en ratones
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
infect
[ɪnˈfɛkt] vt [+ person, blood] → infecter, contaminer
to be infected with sth [+ illness] → être atteint(e) de qch
to be infected with sth [+ illness] → être atteint(e) de qch
(fig) (= influence) → corrompre
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
infect
vt
wound, blood → infizieren; (lit) person → anstecken, infizieren; water → verseuchen, verunreinigen; meat → verderben; to be infected with or by an illness → sich mit einer Krankheit infiziert or angesteckt haben; his wound became infected → seine Wunde entzündete sich; her cold infected all her friends → sie steckte alle ihre Freunde mit ihrer Erkältung an; this is likely to infect the rest of the economy → das breitet sich wahrscheinlich auf den Rest der Wirtschaft aus
(fig: with enthusiasm etc) → anstecken; for a moment I was infected by her fear → für einen Augenblick ließ ich mich von ihrer Angst anstecken
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
infect
[ɪnˈfɛkt] vt (wound) → infettare; (person) → contagiare; (food, air) → contaminare (fig) (poison) → corrompere; (influence) → influenzareto infect sb with a disease → trasmettere una malattia a qn
he's infected everybody with his enthusiasm → ha contagiato tutti con il suo entusiasmo
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
infect
(inˈfekt) verb to fill with germs that cause disease; to give a disease to. You must wash that cut on your knee in case it becomes infected; She had a bad cold last week and has infected the rest of the class.
inˈfection (-ʃən) noun1. the process of infecting or state of being infected. You should wash your hands after handling raw meat to avoid infection.
2. a disease. a throat infection.
inˈfectious (-ʃəs) adjective likely to spread to others. Measles is an infectious disease.
inˈfectiously adverbKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
in·fect
vt. infectar;
vr. infectarse; contaminar con un agente patógeno.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
infect
vt infectar; infected with (a disease) infectado con; (an agent of disease) infectado con or por; infected with TB..infectado con TB; infected with HIV..infectado con or por VIH; to become infected infectarseEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.