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disease - 8 dictionary results
dis⋅ease
[di-zeez] 
noun, verb, -eased, -eas⋅ing.–noun
| 1. | a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment. |
| 2. | any abnormal condition in a plant that interferes with its vital physiological processes, caused by pathogenic microorganisms, parasites, unfavorable environmental, genetic, or nutritional factors, etc. |
| 3. | any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society: His fascination with executions is a disease. |
| 4. | decomposition of a material under special circumstances: tin disease. |
–verb (used with object)
| 5. | to affect with disease; make ill. |
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To disease
| dis·ease (dĭ-zēz') n.
[Middle English disese, from Old French : des-, dis- + aise, ease; see ease.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Disease
Dis*ease"\, n. [OE. disese, OF. desaise; des- (L. dis-) + aise ease. See Ease.]1. Lack of ease; uneasiness; trouble; vexation; disquiet. [Obs.] So all that night they passed in great disease. --Spenser. To shield thee from diseases of the world. --Shak. 2. An alteration in the state of the body or of some of its organs, interrupting or disturbing the performance of the vital functions, and causing or threatening pain and weakness; malady; affection; illness; sickness; disorder; -- applied figuratively to the mind, to the moral character and habits, to institutions, the state, etc. Diseases desperate grown, By desperate appliances are relieved. --Shak. The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public counsels have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have every where perished. --Madison. Disease germ. See under Germ. Syn: Distemper; ailing; ailment; malady; disorder; sickness; illness; complaint; indisposition; affection. -- Disease, Disorder, Distemper, Malady, Affection. Disease is the leading medical term. Disorder mean? much the same, with perhaps some slight reference to an irregularity of the system. Distemper is now used by physicians only of the diseases of animals. Malady is not a medical term, and is less used than formerly in literature. Affection has special reference to the part, organ, or function disturbed; as, his disease is an affection of the lungs. A disease is usually deep-seated and permanent, or at least prolonged; a disorder is often slight, partial, and temporary; malady has less of a technical sense than the other terms, and refers more especially to the suffering endured. In a figurative sense we speak of a disease mind, of disordered faculties, and of mental maladies.Disease
Dis*ease"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Diseased; p. pr. & vb. n. Diseasing.]1. To deprive of ease; to disquiet; to trouble; to distress. [Obs.] His double burden did him sore disease. --Spenser. 2. To derange the vital functions of; to afflict with disease or sickness; to disorder; -- used almost exclusively in the participle diseased. He was diseased in body and mind. --Macaulay.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : disease
Spanish:
enfermedad, mal,
German:
die Krankheit,
Japanese:
病気
disease
c.1330, "discomfort," from O.Fr. desaise, from des- "without, away" + aise "ease" (see ease). Sense of "sickness, illness" first recorded 1393; the word still sometimes was used in its lit. sense early 17c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: dis·ease
Pronunciation: diz-'Ez
Function: noun
: an impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its partsthat interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition, industrial hazards, or climate), to specific infective agents (as worms,bacteria, or viruses), to inherent defects of the organism (as genetic anomalies), or to combinations of these factors :
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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disease dis·ease (dĭ-zēz')
n.
A pathological condition of a body part, an organ, or a system resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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disease
a harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism. A diseased organism commonly exhibits signs or symptoms indicative of its abnormal state. Thus, the normal condition of an organism must be understood in order to recognize the hallmarks of disease. Nevertheless, a sharp demarcation between disease and health is not always apparent
Learn more about disease with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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