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 sales leader infected everyone around him with toxic positivity who believed anything was possible, even in the face of real business obstacles, shielding the whole team from reality.
—
Mita Mallick, Big Think, 30 Sep. 2025
The researchers had shown in 2023 that parasitic scraps of DNA could spread within bacterial populations by hitching rides on the tails of infecting viruses.
—Elie Dolgin, IEEE Spectrum, 25 Sep. 2025
There is evidence that some cows have antibodies to human flu viruses, which suggests the animals have been infected by these pathogens even if the viruses themselves haven’t been detected, Gaunt says.
—Chris Simms, Scientific American, 25 Sep. 2025
To tackle this, the Monash team turned to bacteriophages — viruses that naturally infect and kill bacteria.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infect
Mita Mallick, Big Think, 30 Sep. 2025
The researchers had shown in 2023 that parasitic scraps of DNA could spread within bacterial populations by hitching rides on the tails of infecting viruses.
—Elie Dolgin, IEEE Spectrum, 25 Sep. 2025
There is evidence that some cows have antibodies to human flu viruses, which suggests the animals have been infected by these pathogens even if the viruses themselves haven’t been detected, Gaunt says.
—Chris Simms, Scientific American, 25 Sep. 2025
To tackle this, the Monash team turned to bacteriophages — viruses that naturally infect and kill bacteria.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infect
Verb
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Krishna discovers that Kaliya is living beneath the surface of a local pond and poisoning its waters with his venom.—
Seamus Sullivan
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
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Authorities said Boytsov is also accused of poisoning his wife, who is one of the deceased, with the alcohol.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Public health authorities are urging people to throw away certain precooked pasta meals sold at two popular retailers over concerns that they could be contaminated with listeria and connected to a worsening nationwide outbreak.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
30 Sep. 2025
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The government ignored Hamilton’s warning, and for 50 years lead spewed from every car’s tailpipe, contaminating the air, soil, and bodies of generations.—
Tom Frieden,
Big Think,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Despite holding the lead for much of the game, Federico Chiesa’s 87th-minute equaliser threatened to spoil what was a near-complete performance.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
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Uber Eats’ new Fresh Guarantee means that if your fresh item arrives spoiled, damaged, stale, or past its best-by date, the company will ensure a full review and refund for eligible items.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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There was a frightening moment when David Fry squared to bunt and fouled the ball back into his face, leaving him down and bloodied near home plate.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
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Pushing Ohtani through six innings for the first time since his second Tommy John surgery still left three innings for the Dodgers’ bullpen to foul things up.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Infect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infect. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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