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Definition of infect
transitive verb
1 : to contaminate with a disease-producing substance or agent (such as bacteria)
2a : to communicate a pathogen or a disease tob of a pathogenic organism : to invade (an individual or organ) usually by penetrationc of a computer virus : to become transmitted and copied to (a device, such as a computer)
3a : contaminate, corrupt the inflated writing that infects such storiesb : to work upon or seize upon so as to induce sympathy, belief, or support trying to infect their salespeople with their enthusiasm
People Are Reading
Examples of infect in a Sentence
If you're sick you should stay home to avoid infecting other people in the office.
The virus has infected many people.
They were unable to prevent bacteria from infecting the wound.
Her enthusiasm has infected everyone.
The virus has infected many computers.
All the computers in the office were infected by the same virus.
Recent Examples of infect from the Web
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On May 11, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) notified the World Health Organization that one of its citizens had been infected with the Ebola virus.
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In the same vein, Dr. Nazarian suggests to follow up the cleanse with Aquaphor to prevent the cut from getting infected.
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Risk was higher if mom was infected during the first trimester, but even third-trimester infections sometimes led to birth defects.
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Analyzing a database of wildlife species and viruses known to infect mammals and...
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Daszak's colleague, ecologist Kevin Olival, collected information on all viruses known to infect mammals, 586 in total, found in 754 species.
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SANAA — A Yemeni health official says more than 96,000 people have been infected with cholera in an outbreak that has caused at least 746 deaths since late April.
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Powell said she was infected with the antibiotic-resistant bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in 2012.
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Sears Holdings Corp. said in a blog post late Wednesday that Kmart’s store payment systems were recently infected with virus-like computer code undetectable by current anti-virus systems.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'infect'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of infect
Middle English, from Latin infectus, past participle of inficere, from in- + facere to make, do — more at do
INFECT Defined for English Language Learners
infect
playDefinition of infect for English Language Learners
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: to cause (someone or something) to become sick or affected by disease
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: to cause (someone) to feel an emotion
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of an emotion : to spread to (other people)
INFECT Defined for Kids
infect
playDefinition of infect for Students
infected
;infecting
1 : to pass on or introduce a germ, illness, or disease to : to cause sickness in Don't infect me with your cold. The bacteria can infect wounds.
2 : to cause to share similar feelings Her enthusiasm infects the other players.
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about infect
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See words that rhyme with infect Spanish Central: Translation of infect Nglish: Translation of infect for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of infect for Arabic speakers
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