as in severity
biting sharpness of feeling or expression
I was surprised by the virulence of the criticism
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Recent Examples of virulence
Assuming the contagiousness and virulence of Neolithic diseases increased through time, dense settlements such as Çatalhöyük may have reached a tipping point where the effects of disease outweighed the benefits of living closely together.
—
R. Alexander Bentley, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
Scientists emphasized that this hasn’t been linked to virulence or rapid transmission.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024
When a plague of unprecedented virulence sweeps the globe, the human race is all but wiped out.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 1 Oct. 2024
Those cases have decreased significantly in the U.S. The current strain, called clade 1b, is worrisome because of its virulence.
—Erika Edwards, NBC News, 5 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for virulence
R. Alexander Bentley, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
Scientists emphasized that this hasn’t been linked to virulence or rapid transmission.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024
When a plague of unprecedented virulence sweeps the globe, the human race is all but wiped out.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 1 Oct. 2024
Those cases have decreased significantly in the U.S. The current strain, called clade 1b, is worrisome because of its virulence.
—Erika Edwards, NBC News, 5 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for virulence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virulence
Noun
-
First, because our common narrative framework depends on the past, many people still consider warming through a speculative lens, failing to recognize the severity, and urgency, of superstorms and sea-level rise.—
Heather Hansman,
The Atlantic,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Common cold symptoms: Vitamin C can help reduce the duration of the common cold and reduce the severity of its symptoms.—
Sara Hoffman, PharmD,
Verywell Health,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
When expectant fathers face hostility or subtle exclusion at work, the consequences can extend beyond their own careers.—
Kim Elsesser,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Questions were raised over Putin’s motives in calling the brief halt to hostilities, which came just after the Trump administration threatened to abandon peace efforts without tangible signs of progress.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
This is not someone who is going to kill someone out of malice.—
Maureen Maher,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2025
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These steps are particularly important when installing extensions or apps from Google, given the much higher incidence of malice being reported over the past decade from its offerings.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
He was released from the hospital on Wednesday after being monitored for three days to ensure no bile was leaking into the bloodstream.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Her symptoms include vomiting up clots of hair, bile and sewing pins; making scary pronouncements in a guttural voice that is not her own; and being unusually attractive to wasps, whose carcasses litter her bedclothes.—
Sarah Lyall,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Virulence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virulence. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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