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Glite Dictionary
🤒 To spread disease 😨 To spread feelings 💻 To harm digitally
to infect

to infect

466 2.6
Make people or animals sick by spreading germs
  • verb
  • /ɪnˈfɛkt/
translation icon : infectar
  • Washing your hands frequently helps prevent germs from infecting your body.
  • infected patients
  • infected people
  • infected animals

And as a result, virtually no one in Finland was infected with HIV.

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Examples

  • But it does happen, and bird viruses can infect humans.

    Sabine Hossenfelder

  • The flu virus can easily infect people who are not vaccinated.

  • And he said Omicron will infect just about everybody.

  • Currently, young adults are becoming infected with HIV at increasing rates each year.

    Academic text (2013)

  • The virus is replicating and infecting new cells and making you sick.

  • Before the advent of antibiotics, 70-80% of those infected died, usually within a few days.

    Academic text (2011)

  • So bacteria and viruses could infect you through unhealthy gums.

  • Both birds were euthanized, and both were infected with highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza.

    Academic text (2008)

  • It's important to stay away from sick individuals to avoid infecting others.

Synonyms

to invade
vsto infect
  • Specialized
77 3.7

To enter and spread through a place or body causing harm

cause illness by spreading germs, bacteria, or viruses

Antonyms

to protect
∞ 1.0

To keep someone or something safe from harm

to heal
481 1.2

To become healthy again after an injury, illness, or emotional pain

to disinfect
18 3.7

To clean a surface, wound, or tool with chemicals to kill germs

How Severe

to tetter
  • Archaic
9.9
to infect
466 2.6
to inflame
  • Specialized
13 5.3
to irritate
17 3.4

Surface Forms

infect infinitive
infected past
infected past participle
infecting present participle
infects third person singular

Morphology

infect = in + fect

Although historically analyzable as in- + -fect, '-fect' is a bound combining form (not a standalone English word), so a typical B1 learner cannot derive the meaning from its parts.

Etymology

Infect comes from Latin parts in- 'into' and -fect 'make', so it gives the image of putting something inside a person that makes them sick. That's why infect means to cause illness by spreading germs or viruses.