infection

Noun
US[in-fek-shuhn]/ˌɪnˈfɛkʃən/3 syllables

Open English WordNet

Noun (7)infections

  1. the pathological state resulting from the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganismsType of ill health, unhealthinessKinds sore, schistosomiasis, opportunistic infection, focal infection, tetanus, tapeworm infection, toxoplasmosis, vaccinia, protozoal infection, scabies +12 moreParts incubation
  2. (phonetics) the alteration of a speech sound under the influence of a neighboring soundType of linguistic process
  3. (medicine) the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms and their multiplication which can lead to tissue damage and diseaseType of pathologic process, pathological processKinds zymosis
  4. an incident in which an infectious disease is transmittedSynonyms: contagiontransmissionType of incident
  5. the communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people“a contagion of mirth”“the infection of his enthusiasm for poetry”Synonyms: contagionType of communication
  6. moral corruption or contamination“ambitious men are led astray by an infection that is almost unavoidable”Type of corruptness, corruption
  7. (international law) illegality that taints or contaminates a ship or cargo rendering it liable to seizure
Word of the day · Oct 22About this word

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Translations

Noun uncontrolled growth of harmful microorganisms in a host

Spanish
infección
French
infection
German
Infektion
Italian
infezione
Portuguese
infecção
Turkish
enfeksiyon
Russian
инфе́кция infékcija
Arabic
عَدْوَى ʕadwā
Chinese
感染 gǎnrǎn
Japanese
感染 kansen
23 more languages
Swedish
infektion
Greek
μόλυνση mólynsi
Korean
감염 gamyeom
Indonesian
infeksi
Hungarian
fertőzés
Portuguese (PT)
infecção
Chinese (Trad.)
感染 gǎnrǎn
Catalan
infecció
Czech
infekce
Danish
infektion
Esperanto
infekto
Estonian
nakkus
Finnish
infektio
Georgian
ინფექცია inpekcia
Hebrew
זיהום zihum
Icelandic
sýking
Norwegian
infeksjon
Romanian
infecție
Serbo-Croatian
infekcija
Yiddish
אינפֿעקציע infektsye

Noun the process of infecting

Spanish
infección
French
infection
German
Infektion
Italian
infezione
Portuguese
infecção
Turkish
enfeksiyon
Russian
инфе́кция infékcija
Arabic
عَدْوَى ʕadwā
Chinese
传染 chuánrǎn
Japanese
伝染 densen
17 more languages
Polish
infekcja
Swedish
infektion
Korean
감염 gamyeom
Indonesian
infeksi
Hungarian
fertőzés
Portuguese (PT)
infecção
Chinese (Trad.)
傳染 chuánrǎn
Catalan
infecció
Czech
nákaza
Danish
infektion
Georgian
ინფექცია inpekcia
Hebrew
זיהום zihum
Icelandic
sýking
Norwegian
infeksjon
Romanian
infectare

The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

In·fec′tion noun

Origin: Cf. F. infection, L. infectio a dyeing.

1. The act or process of infecting.

There was a strict order against coming to those pits, and that was only to prevent infection.— Daniel De Foe

2. That which infects, or causes the communicated disease; any effluvium, miasm, or pestilential matter by which an infectious disease is caused.

And that which was still worse, they that did thus break out spread the infection further by their wandering about with the distemper upon them.— Daniel De Foe

3. The state of being infected; the condition of suffering from an infectious disease; contamination by morbific particles; the result of infecting influence; a prevailing disease; epidemic.

The danger was really very great, the infection being so very violent in London.— Daniel De Foe

4. That which taints or corrupts morally; as, the infection of vicious principles.

It was her chance to light Amidst the gross infections of those times.— Daniel.

5. Law Contamination by illegality, as in cases of contraband goods; implication.

6. Sympathetic communication of like qualities or emotions; influence.

Through all her train the soft infection ran.— Alexander Pope
Mankind are gay or serious by infection.— Rambler, The

7. A localized area of tissue which is inflamed by growth of microorganisms; as, he has an infection in his finger.

Synonyms: Infection, Contagion. — Infection is often used in a definite and limited sense of the transmission of affections without direct contact of individuals or immediate application or introduction of the morbific agent, in contradistinction to contagion, which then implies transmission by direct contact. Richard Quain. See Contagious.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: GCIDE editors

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