Meanings
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1
verb
To pass a disease to a person, animal, or thing.
The virus can infect anyone who breathes the same air.
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2
verb
To spread a feeling or mood to other people.
Her cheerful laughter quickly infected the whole room.
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3
verb
To put a harmful program onto a computer or file.
The downloaded file infected his laptop with a virus.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Opposites
disinfect
Word family
Forms
infectinginfects
Derived forms
autoinfectcamfectingcoinfectinfectabilityinfectableinfecteeinfectibleinfectioninfectiveinfectomeinfectornoninfecting
Related forms
infectious
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin īnfectus, equivalent to in- (“not”) + factus, perfect passive participle of faciō (“to do, make”).