Library / English Dictionary

INFECT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Contaminate with a disease or microorganism

Synonyms:

infect; taint

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "infect" is one way to...):

contaminate; foul; pollute (make impure)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "infect"):

superinfect (infect (an infected cell) further or infect a cell already containing similar organisms)

smut (affect with smut or mildew, as of a crop such as corn)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

disinfect (destroy microorganisms or pathogens by cleansing)

Derivation:

infection ((medicine) the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms and their multiplication which can lead to tissue damage and disease)

infection (the pathological state resulting from the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms)

infective (able to cause disease)

infective (caused by infection or capable of causing infection)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Communicate a disease to

Example:

Your children have infected you with this head cold

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "infect" is one way to...):

give (cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "infect"):

canker (infect with a canker)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Derivation:

infection (an incident in which an infectious disease is transmitted)

infective (able to cause disease)

infective (caused by infection or capable of causing infection)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Affect in a contagious way

Example:

His laughter infects everyone who is in the same room

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "infect" is one way to...):

affect; impress; move; strike (have an emotional or cognitive impact upon)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

infection (the communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Corrupt with ideas or an ideology

Example:

society was infected by racism

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "infect" is one way to...):

corrupt; debase; debauch; demoralise; demoralize; deprave; misdirect; pervert; profane; subvert; vitiate (corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

When a mosquito bites a person, the parasites first infect the liver, where they live for about seven days.

(New way to stop falciparum malaria transmission, SciDev.Net)

Unlike most other vectors, adenovirus vectors have the ability to infect post-mitotic cells.

(Adenovirus Vector, NCI Thesaurus)

Upon intratumoral administration, the adenovirus selectively infects and replicates in tumor cells, which may result in tumor cell lysis.

(Adenovirus-mediated Human Interleukin-12, NCI Thesaurus)

This bacteria is motile by flagella and mediates the horizontal gene transfer of its Ti plasmid to infect plants.

(Agrobacterium tumefaciens, NCI Thesaurus)

If a wound appears to be infected, see a health care provider.

(MRSA, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Some CD8 cells recognize and kill cancerous cells and those infected by intracellular pathogens (some bacteria, viruses and mycoplasma) and they are called cytotoxic T-lymphocytes

(Murine CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, NCI Thesaurus)

Upon administration, the oncolytic adenovirus selectively infects and replicates in tumor cells, which may result in tumor cells lysis.

(Oncolytic Adenovirus Encoding GM-CSF, NCI Thesaurus)

Those persons infected have impaired vision and up to 20% are blind.

(Ocular Onchocerciasis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Bone marrow-derived autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) infected with the oncolytic, replication-competent adenovirus ICOVIR5, with potential antineoplastic activity.

(Oncolytic Adenovirus ICOVIR5-infected Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cells, NCI Thesaurus)

As ICP47 blocks antigen presentation in HSV-infected cells, deletion of this gene may induce a more potent antitumor immune response in the tumor cells.

(Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus-1-encoding GM-CSF, NCI Thesaurus)