infection
noun
in·fec·tion
in-ˈfek-shən
1
a
: the state produced by the establishment of one or more pathogenic agents (such as a bacteria, protozoans, or viruses) in or on the body of a suitable host
an infection in his foot
b
: a disease resulting from infection
contagious infections
infections of childhood
2
: an act or process of infecting something or someone
also
: the establishment of a pathogen in its host after invasion
3
: an infectious agent or material contaminated with an infectious agent
… that notion that the infection was all in the air, that there was no such thing as contagion from the sick people to the sound …—Daniel Defoe
It may not be uninteresting to add, that this case I vaccinated with infection taken from a secondary pock on the arm of her sister …—John Redman Coxe
4
: the communication of emotions or qualities through example or contact
But immediately she resisted this intolerable fear as an infection from her husband's way of thinking.—George Eliot
also
: the emotion or quality that is communicated
… as the evening wore on, she caught the infection of their excitement … —Thomas Hardy
Besides, I know what sort of a mind I have placed in communication with my own: I know it is one not liable to take infection … —Charlotte Brontë
5
: the act or result of corrupting someone's morals, character, etc.
… it is at least as difficult to stay a moral infection as a physical one …—Charles Dickens
… they could not know the origin—or the depth—of his susceptibility to the infection of power.—Robert A. Caro
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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