Synonyms of infect

infect

verb

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.

Related Words

• poison
• contaminate
• spoil
• foul
• give
• corrupt
• transmit
• pollute
• communicate
• impart
• spread
• taint
• convey
• conduct
• defile
• dirty
• transfuse
• soil
• besmirch
• transfer
• sully
• stain
• rot
• smudge
• blacken
• befoul
• dilute
• foul up
• muddy
• disseminate
• adulterate
• propagate
• mire
• smirch
• diffuse
• doctor
• water down
• grime
• begrime
• broadcast
• hand down
• hand on
• deliver
• hand over
• turn over
• surrender

Dissimilar Words

• sterilize
• purify
• catch
• disinfect
• come down (with)
• clean
• contract
• sanitize
• clarify
• decontaminate
• cleanse
• purge
• clear
• filter
• distill

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of infect

An 8-year-old girl in Louisiana has died after being infected by an extremely rare brain-eating amoeba that is found in warm freshwater, her family says. — Jack Brook, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Around 90 percent of unvaccinated people exposed to the virus will become infected. — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 24 Aug. 2026

The virus has infected over 5,500 people and killed nearly half, with the highest fatality rates in remote Ituri and North Kivu where patients rarely reach treatment centers. — Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

The number of mosquito traps that have captured insects infected with the West Nile virus in the county this summer is now eight, with neighboring Fulton County reporting one positive trap. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026