disease

noun

dis·ease | \ di-ˈzēz

Definition of disease

1 : a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms : sickness, malady infectious diseases a rare genetic disease heart disease

2 : a harmful development (as in a social institution) sees the city's crime as a disease

3 obsolete : trouble

Other Words from disease Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about disease

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Examples of disease in a Sentence

He suffers from a rare genetic disease. a disease of the mind Thousands die of heart disease each year. They are working to stop the spread of disease in rural areas. The article cites intolerance as one of the most dangerous of society's diseases. He sees crime as a disease that too often plagues the poor and disadvantaged.

Recent Examples on the Web

Plus, like other cruciferous veggies, cabbage contains disease-fighting glucosinolates. — Woman's Day Kitchen, Woman's Day, "Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Red Grapes and Cabbage," 7 Jan. 2019 The 57-year-old’s disease-fighting white blood cells were drawn, reprogrammed with Crispr to delete a gene that interferes with the immune system’s ability to fight cancer, then re-injected into his body. — Wenxin Fan, WSJ, "Chinese Gene-Editing Experiment Loses Track of Patients, Alarming Technology’s Inventors," 28 Dec. 2018 SEMINOLE Mary Frances Davila-Aponte Mary Frances Davila-Aponte, 85, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on July 7th, 2018, as a result of Parkinson’s disease. — Orlando Sentinel, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Deaths in Central Florida: 7/12," 12 July 2018 Owens entrusted Wiegand to break the news of his battle with Parkinson’s disease in 2014, after helping keep it a secret since his diagnosis in 2001. — Ben Fong-torres, SFChronicle.com, "Listeners mourn loss of ‘Acoustic Sunrise’," 25 June 2018 Despite decades of research, scientists have made little progress in halting Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Childhood Virus May Have a Role in Alzheimer’s Disease," 23 June 2018 The disease-carrying mosquitoes breed in standing water. — Nqobile Ntshangase, The Seattle Times, "‘Second disaster’ warned in Mozambique as cholera a concern," 26 Mar. 2019 To improve your odds of keeping your landscape healthy, buy boxwoods that are more disease-resistant like the ones featured here, and don't plant them too close together so air can circulate. — Arricca Sansone, Country Living, "20 Best Boxwood Shrubs to Plant in Your Garden," 14 Feb. 2019 However, two to five hours later, levels of disease-fighting immune cells (like NK and white blood cells) decreased. — Jessica Migala, Good Housekeeping, "5 Major Dry January Health Benefits, According to Experts," 26 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disease.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

23 Apr 2019

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The first known use of disease was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for disease

disease

noun

English Language Learners Definition of disease

: an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant : a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally

: a problem that a person, group, organization, or society has and cannot stop

See the full definition for disease in the English Language Learners Dictionary

disease

noun

dis·ease | \ di-ˈzēz

Kids Definition of disease

: a change in a living body (as of a person or plant) that prevents it from functioning normally : sickness

disease

noun

dis·ease | \ diz-ˈēz

Medical Definition of disease

: an impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions, is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms, and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition, industrial hazards, or climate), to specific infective agents (as worms, bacteria, or viruses), to inherent defects of the organism (as genetic anomalies), or to combinations of these factors : sickness, illness

— called also morbus

— compare health sense 1