as in to poison
to pass something harmful (such as a disease) to someone or something else
If you come to work when you're sick, you'll infect everyone in the office.
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Recent Examples of infect
The person infected in Long Island likely got the virus after being bitten by an infected mosquito, the New York State Department of Health said in a statement.
—
Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 15 Oct. 2025
More than 90 percent of those infected with measles have either been unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown.
—Rob Williams, EverydayHealth.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Pigs can be infected by avian, human, and swine influenza strains simultaneously, which makes reassortment especially likely, though the process is not exclusive to pigs.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
At least 70 people — mostly farmworkers with close contact to birds or cows — have been infected.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infect
Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 15 Oct. 2025
More than 90 percent of those infected with measles have either been unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown.
—Rob Williams, EverydayHealth.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Pigs can be infected by avian, human, and swine influenza strains simultaneously, which makes reassortment especially likely, though the process is not exclusive to pigs.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
At least 70 people — mostly farmworkers with close contact to birds or cows — have been infected.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infect
Verb
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But Antonio distracts him by accusing him in the town square of sending Justina off to El Alcazar and poisoning his son.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
12 Oct. 2025
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One of the jurors said deliberations were poisoned by a belief among some jurors that a member of the panel had been paid off by Weinstein or his lawyers.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Unknown water can be contaminated with parasites, bacteria or other pathogens, which can make dogs sick.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
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But it is required to obtain state permits to ensure the waste does not contaminate the environment or local water sources.—
Anjeanette Damon,
ProPublica,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Torre spoiled Yankees fans with those four World Series titles in his first five years as manager.—
Ian O'Connor,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
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The first ballot will be spoiled.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Edman fouled off three two-strike offerings from Sánchez before tapping a ball softly in front of the plate to end the threat.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
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During an at-bat between Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Guardians hitter Angel Martinez, the former delivered a 100-mph fastball that the latter fouled off on an 0-2 count.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Infect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infect. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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