as in poisoning
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 infecting
Unlike measles outbreaks in Texas, South Carolina and Arizona, the spread in Utah has been tough to contain to one region — infecting undervaccinated communities in nearly every county.
—
Devi Shastri,
Fortune,
20 June 2026
Instead of targeting machines through the BIOS or master boot record, one such bootkit attacked Mac OS X systems by infecting the EFI, a package of firmware that started the boot process.
—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
17 June 2026
While the fly is capable of infecting humans and pets, such cases are rare and pose little risk to the broader public, according to experts.
—
David Hickey,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
She is allowed to roam only within a limited tolerance zone to avoid infecting cattle.
—
The Conversation,
4 June 2026
The year before that, SARS had emerged, ultimately infecting over 8,000 people in nearly 30 countries.
—
Neil Vora,
Time,
22 May 2026
Over the past two years, the epidemic has left a devastating trail, infecting more than 220,000 individuals, and claiming the lives of over 4,000 people in 19 countries across the continent.
—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Hantavirus is typically spread from rodents to people, but the particular strain that’s infecting those on the cruise, according to the WHO — the Andes strain — is the only kind that can also be transmitted from person to person.
—
Elizabeth Yuko,
Rolling Stone,
8 May 2026
Interest in her field exploded in the late 1990s and again in the mid-aughts when the H5N1 bird flu virus began infecting and killing mass numbers of poultry in China and other parts of Southeast Asia — and infecting and killing some people as well.
—
Helen Branswell,
STAT,
25 Apr. 2026
Devi Shastri,
Fortune,
20 June 2026
Instead of targeting machines through the BIOS or master boot record, one such bootkit attacked Mac OS X systems by infecting the EFI, a package of firmware that started the boot process.
—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
17 June 2026
While the fly is capable of infecting humans and pets, such cases are rare and pose little risk to the broader public, according to experts.
—
David Hickey,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
She is allowed to roam only within a limited tolerance zone to avoid infecting cattle.
—
The Conversation,
4 June 2026
The year before that, SARS had emerged, ultimately infecting over 8,000 people in nearly 30 countries.
—
Neil Vora,
Time,
22 May 2026
Over the past two years, the epidemic has left a devastating trail, infecting more than 220,000 individuals, and claiming the lives of over 4,000 people in 19 countries across the continent.
—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Hantavirus is typically spread from rodents to people, but the particular strain that’s infecting those on the cruise, according to the WHO — the Andes strain — is the only kind that can also be transmitted from person to person.
—
Elizabeth Yuko,
Rolling Stone,
8 May 2026
Interest in her field exploded in the late 1990s and again in the mid-aughts when the H5N1 bird flu virus began infecting and killing mass numbers of poultry in China and other parts of Southeast Asia — and infecting and killing some people as well.
—
Helen Branswell,
STAT,
25 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infecting
Verb
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One of Robinson's attorneys, Kathryn Nester, also represented Kouri Richins, who was convicted of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022.
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Lewis was accused of poisoning two white female housemates, assaulted by a white mob in response to the charge, and acquitted in court, only to then be accused of stealing art supplies and prohibited from reënrolling.
Verb
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Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.
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An early discussion about social contracts comes down to us in Plato’s dialogue Crito in which Socrates, condemned to death for allegedly corrupting the youth, refused an offer to escape from prison.
Verb
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Until the 1990s, the power company disposed of over 1 million tons of coal ash in an unlined storage area in Pines, later contaminating the groundwater that supplied the town of 700.
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Humans, on the other hand, are almost like an invasive species, with air filters lining the floors changing out all of the factory’s air in just a single minute to make sure those bags of flesh and blood don’t release too many contaminating particles.
Verb
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Two of the Huddersfield players were sent off for fouling Trundle, and their manager Peter Jackson was incensed.
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Chisholm was removed from the Bombers’ 5-1 loss in the fourth inning after fouling off a knuckle-curve from Chicago’s Sean Burke.
Verb
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Color Changes Foods can darken or brown slightly from exposure to oxygen rather than spoiling.
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Mbappé and his teammates were inefficient to start, with poor touches spoiling attacks in and out of the box.
Verb
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Healthcare economists say giving people access to preventive healthcare saves taxpayers money in the long run by keeping the workforce healthy and relieving pressure on an overburdened system.
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Denise Mendez is practicing giving cues to a training dog at the Jefferson Moss-Magee Rehabilitation Center.
Cite this Entry
“Infecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infecting. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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