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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Example Sentences

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 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 In some experiments, scientists have reactivated viruses that remained capable of infecting host cells after thawing, though none have been linked to human illness. —

Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2026 Neem oil coats the leaves and prevents disease spores from infecting them. —

Steve Bender, Southern Living, 22 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for infecting

Verb

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
It was also used in a separate supply-chain attack poisoning dozens of Red Hat packages.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 8 June 2026