INFECTING Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

infecting

verb

present participle of infect

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of infecting One consequence is that people suffering from Ebola must often wait at home until a bed becomes available, risking infecting others. — Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 23 July 2026 Legionnaires disease comes from live Legionella bacteria infecting a person's lungs. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026 There is also evidence, both Moss and Saphire note, that measles kills immune system memory cells when infecting someone without vaccine-induced or natural immunity. — Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 July 2026 Hendra virus typically passes from bats to horses before occasionally infecting humans. — William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 And now, a new surge of toxicity is infecting modern masculinity. — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 27 June 2026 These bloodborne bacteria can migrate to the heart, infecting and damaging the heart muscle and valves. — Mark Stibich, Verywell Health, 25 June 2026 The procedure, called variolation, involved deliberately infecting a soldier with a small amount of smallpox virus to build immunity. — Katrine L. Wallace, The Conversation, 24 June 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for infecting

Verb

One of Robinson's attorneys, Kathryn Nester, also represented Kouri Richins, who was convicted of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022.

— Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 23 June 2026
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.

— Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 8 June 2026

Definition of poisoning

Verb

Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.

— CBS News, CBS News, 31 May 2026
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.

— George G. Szpiro, Big Think, 9 Apr. 2026

Definition of corrupting

Verb

This methane could collect in the same cold pockets where ice and ancient molecules have been collected for billions of years, possibly contaminating this finite, scientific evidence.

— Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 14 July 2026
The district, which plans to send out an inspector, could determine whether wind carrying coal dust stored nearby may be contaminating the sugar.

— Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 9 July 2026

Definition of contaminating

Verb

But, experts say, the projects popping up in Miami-Dade are unlike those that grab headlines for fouling drinking water and driving up power bills — for now.

— Alexandra Phelps, Miami Herald, 17 July 2026
That’s great for game day, but Post Malone and Jelly Roll aren’t fouling off heaters during their show.

— Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 16 July 2026

Definition of fouling

Verb

The same relentlessness that built Ackman’s reputation as a scourge of corporate excess—and, to critics, a bully spoiling for a fight—has increasingly spilled beyond balance sheets and boardrooms.

— Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 July 2026
Without spoiling too much, Rick and Morty make a cameo in the pilot in a very meta scene.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 July 2026

Definition of spoiling

Verb

Much of the early literature framed the debate as a choice between state and private ownership, giving less attention to the broad range of ownership and governance arrangements that lie between those two extremes.

— James Broughel, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
This deep price drop completely sweeps away the financial barrier typically attached to high-power smart floor robots, giving busy families, pet owners, and apartment dwellers an easy way to maintain pristine floors.

— Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 22 July 2026

Definition of giving

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infected

infecting

infection

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“Infecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infecting. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of infecting

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