viral

adjective vi·ral \ ˈvī-rəl \

Definition of viral

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

a viral infection

2 :quickly and widely spread or popularized especially by person-to-person electronic communication

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

Preston, 52, was arrested after the video from the August 12 incident went viral.

— veronica hilbring, Essence.com, "White Nationalist Who Fired Gun At Protesters While Police Stood By Finally Arrested," 28 Aug. 2017
A story went viral this week about a man in Paducah, Kentucky, who hired a prostitute and was shocked – shocked! – when his wife showed up at his hotel room door.

— jeffrey lee puckett, The Courier-Journal, "Paducah man hires his own wife as a hooker and other fake news that can ruin your day," 25 Aug. 2017
Her two-minute campaign launch video — one minute on war and determination, the other on health care and her mom’s legacy — went viral with more than 1.3 million views in two weeks.

— lisa gillespie, Kaiser Health News, "Will GOP Pay A Price For Trying To Take Health Care Benefits From Voters?," 24 Aug. 2017
Footage of a 13-year-old Denver, Colorado, cheerleader seemingly being forced into doing splits has gone viral and has led to several East High School coaches and administrators being put on leave, NBC News reports.

— tess koman, Cosmopolitan, "Horrifying Video Appears to Show 13-Year-Old Cheerleader Being Painfully Forced Into Doing Splits," 24 Aug. 2017
Cantone’s first appearance on The President Show went instantly viral last week, and stands as perhaps the first clip from this nascent late-night comedy to really resonate since its premiere.

— laura bradley, vanityfair.com, "Watch Trump Give the Mooch a Goodbye Smooch on The President Show," 4 Aug. 2017
The dancing video has gone viral and had more than 1.4 million views on YouTube. Gathers is hoping to do some similar celebrations in the regular season.

— drew davison, star-telegram, "Rico Gathers explains his ‘pick a pipe peter pan high stepper’ celebration," 3 Aug. 2017
Today those execs are trying just as desperately to discover what makes a recipe go viral on the internet.

— roxanne wyss special to the star, kansascity, "In the ’70s, Watergate the scandal, cake and salad had everyone’s attention," 21 July 2017
However, as with so many stories about Trump that go viral online, the reality is more nuanced than the Internet's fast-moving theories.

— david nakamura, Washington Post, "Why Japan’s first lady was probably not snubbing President Trump," 20 July 2017

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

Definition of viral for English Language Learners

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

Medical Dictionary

viral

adjective vi·ral \ ˈvī-rəl \

medical Definition of viral

: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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viral

Definition of viral

virally

Recent Examples of viral from the Web

First Known Use of viral

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VIRAL Defined for English Language Learners

viral

Definition of viral for English Language Learners

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viral

medical Definition of viral

virally

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viral

Definition of viral

virally

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VIRAL Defined for English Language Learners

viral

Definition of viral for English Language Learners

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viral

medical Definition of viral

virally

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