infection definition | Dictionary.com

in⋅fec⋅tion

[in-fek-shuh

–noun

1.	an act or fact of infecting; state of being infected.

2.	an infecting with germs of disease, as through the medium of infected insects, air, water, or clothing.

3.	an infecting agency or influence.

4.	an infectious disease: Is this infection very dangerous?

5.	the condition of suffering an infection.

6.	corruption of another's opinions, beliefs, moral principles, etc.; moral contamination.

7.	an influence or impulse passing from one to another and affecting feeling or action.

8.	Grammar. (in Celtic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel; umlaut.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME infeccio(u)n < LL infectiōn- (s. of infectiō). See infect, -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To infection

in·fec·tion (ĭn-fěk'shən)

1. Invasion by and multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms in a bodily part or tissue, which may produce subsequent tissue injury and progress to overt disease through a variety of cellular or toxic mechanisms.
2. An instance of being infected.
3. An agent or a contaminated substance responsible for one's becoming infected.
4. The pathological state resulting from having been infected.
5. Moral contamination or corruption.
6. Ready communication of an emotion or attitude by contact or example.
An infectious disease.
1. Moral contamination or corruption.
2. Ready communication of an emotion or attitude by contact or example.

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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Infection

In*fec"tion\, n. [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. --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. --De Foe.

3. The state of being infected; 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. --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. --Pope.

Mankind are gay or serious by infection. --Rambler.

Syn: Infection, Contagion.

Usage: 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. Quain. See Contagious.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : infection

Spanish: infección,

German: die Ansteckung,

Japanese: 感染

More Translations »

infection

Invasion of the body or a body part by a pathogenic organism, which multiplies and produces harmful effects on the body's tissues.

Main Entry: in·fec·tion
Pronunciation: in-'fek-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : an infective agent or material contaminated with aninfective agent
2 a : the state produced by the establishment of an infective agent in or on a suitable host b : a disease resulting from infection : INFECTIOUS DISEASE
3 : an act or process of infecting infection is chieflyvenereal>; also : the establishment of a pathogen in its host after invasion

infection in·fec·tion (ĭn-fěk'shən)
n.

Invasion by and multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms in a bodily part or tissue, which may produce subsequent tissue injury and progress to overt disease through a variety of cellular or toxic mechanisms.
An instance of being infected.
An agent or a contaminated substance responsible for one's becoming infected.
The pathological state resulting from having been infected.
An infectious disease.

infection (ĭn-fěk'shən) Pronunciation Key
The invasion of the body of a human or an animal by a pathogen such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus. Infections can be localized, as in pharyngitis, or widespread as in sepsis, and are often accompanied by fever and an increased number of white blood cells. Individuals with immunodeficiency syndromes are predisposed to certain infections. See also infectious disease , opportunistic infection.

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