Infect Meaning
/ɪnˈfɛkt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo bring (the body or part of it) into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen), so that the pathogen begins to act on the body; (of a pathogen) to come into contact with (a body or body part) and begin to act on it.
verbTo contaminate (an object or substance) with a pathogen.
Sentence Examples
Infect the area with cholera.
The virus can easily infect a healthy person.
It is not possible to infect another person through kissing.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The virus can ____ healthy cells by entering them and using their machinery.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You should wash your hands frequently to ensure that you do not ____ others with your cold.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French infect, from Latin infectus, perfect passive participle of inficiō (“dye, taint”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola."
— 2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:
"Ms. Tang’s inevitable contact with people who are ill has started to worry her. It did not help when she learned that someone living in a building near her own, in Siu Sai Wan, had been infected by the virus."
— 2020 February 18, Isabella Kwai, “How a Pharmacy Handles Mask Hoarders and Coronavirus Fears”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 Feb 2020, Asia Pacific:
"Guido, by way of diverting the embarrassment which seemed to infect them all, began to unfasten the packet of letters."
— 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 164:
"And in the imitation of these twain, / Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns / With an imperial voice, many are infect."
— c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], line 187:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The virus can ____ healthy cells by entering them and using their machinery.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You should wash your hands frequently to ensure that you do not ____ others with your cold.