viral

adjective vi·ral \ ˈvī-rəl \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

1 : of, relating to, or caused by a virus

a viral infection

2 : quickly and widely spread or popularized especially by means of social media

a viral video

—

virally

play \ˈvī-rə-lē\ adverb

See viral defined for English-language learners

See viral defined for kids

Recent Examples of viral from the Web

Headley’s voice, in fact, is the first one heard in a video gone viral on social media that was created by Timothy Burke of website Deadspin.

— jeanne jakle, San Antonio Express-News, "WOAI, KABB anchors read Sinclair-mandated anti-fake news script," 2 Apr. 2018
The photos of her severe reaction have since gone viral on social media.

— kelsey castañon, refinery29.com, "How Safe Is Kids' Makeup, Really?," 26 Mar. 2018
From that viral Oscars meme that saw the actress realizing something, to her jaw-dropping red carpet looks, Garner is living her best life right now.

— amy mackelden, Marie Claire, "Jennifer Garner's Hilarious Birthday Message to Reese Witherspoon Involves a Saxophone," 23 Mar. 2018
The cake went viral on social media and the orders started coming in.

— dennis hohenberger, Courant Community, "Cake Plus Candy Makes 'Sweet Equations'," 21 Mar. 2018
But producing and buying airtime for a TV ad is a lot more expensive and reaches a lot fewer people than if a political organization can make a toxic ad go viral on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube and reach millions of people.

— dipayan ghosh and ben scott, Time, "Facebook’s New Controversy Shows How Easily Online Political Ads Can Manipulate You," 19 Mar. 2018
Now, United is opening an investigation after several witness accounts of the incident went viral on social media.

— cydney henderson, azcentral, "Puppy dies after United flight attendant forced it into an overhead bin," 13 Mar. 2018
Williams' act of kindness has since gone viral on social media.

— CBS News, "Waffle House waitress gets $16K scholarship after act of kindness goes viral," 12 Mar. 2018
Former Packer Donald Driver was among those who jumped on board early with Twitter shout-outs and Team Shuster’s slow-motion march to the gold went viral on social media.

— gary d'amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "D'Amato: Olympic curler Matt Hamilton is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame," 9 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of viral

1937

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

VIRAL Defined for English Language Learners

viral

adjective

: caused by a virus
: spreading very quickly to many people especially through the Internet

Medical Dictionary

viral

adjective vi·ral \ ˈvī-rəl \

: of, relating to, or caused by a virus

viral infections

—

virally

play \-rə-lē\ adverb

Learn More about viral

See words that rhyme with viral Spanish Central: Translation of viral Nglish: Translation of viral for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of viral for Arabic speakers

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