viral

adjective vi·ral \ ˈvī-rəl \

Updated on: 15 May 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

More recently, a video recorded by a black graduate student at Yale went viral after a white woman called the police because the graduate student was sleeping in a common area of a campus building.

— richard j. reddick, Fortune, "Existing While Black: Irrational Fear Is the New Breed of Racism," 11 May 2018
During the awards show, which was attended by players and a range of celebrities, a video posted on Tiémoué Bakayoko's Instagram of Player of the Year Kante and David Luiz showing off special handshake went viral online.

— SI.com, "N'Golo Kante Named Chelsea Player of the Year at Gala," 11 May 2018
Here’s one that went viral in January: .@CustomsBorder got on a Greyhound bus yesterday at 4:30pm in Fort Lauderdale and asked every passenger for their papers and to prove citizenship.

— alexia fernández campbell, Vox, "Exclusive: Kirsten Gillibrand introduces a bill to crack down on immigration agents," 11 May 2018
Kelsey Hines, the six year old who pled for the violence to stop in a video that went viral, visits the Baltimore police headquarters.

— christina tkacik, baltimoresun.com, "6-year-old whose plea for peace went viral visits Baltimore police headquarters," 10 May 2018
The 6-foot-2 prospect broke Allen Iverson’s high school scoring record and produced countless viral moments with his ridiculous in-game dunks.

— andrew joseph, For The Win, "Georgetown recruit Mac McClung shut down streetball legend in 1-on-1 challenge," 9 May 2018
One by one, these viral moments proved that there are no restrictions to PowerPoints.

— kathryn lindsay, refinery29.com, "It's Not Just You — PowerPoints Are Having A Moment," 9 May 2018
Spare a thought for the Isaia family, whose viral branding moment of a few years ago is now being slightly flipped on its head.

— samuel hine, GQ, "The MAGA Men Who Love Ultra-High-End Italian Suiting," 8 May 2018
The whole spectacle was recorded from multiple angles, a viral moment in the making.

— allie volpe, Teen Vogue, "Have Promposals Gotten Too Extra?," 24 Apr. 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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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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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