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Glite Dictionary
🦠 Harmfulness of disease 💢 Extreme hostility
virulency

virulency

9.8
How strong a germ or virus is at causing disease
  • noun
  • /ˈvɪr.jə.lən.si/
  • Specialized
translation icon : virulencia
  • The virulency of some strains of influenza makes them particularly dangerous during outbreaks.

Examples

  • Doctors are concerned about the virulency of this new strain.

  • Research is ongoing to understand how bacteria develop increased virulency over time.

  • Doctors monitored the virulency of the infection to determine the appropriate treatment.

  • The virulency of the virus has increased dramatically.

  • Doctors monitored the virulency of the infection to determine the appropriate treatment.

  • Research is ongoing to understand how bacteria develop increased virulency over time.

  • The virulency of some strains of influenza makes them particularly dangerous during outbreaks.

Synonyms

virulence
vsvirulency
  • Specialized
4 8.8

How harmful a disease or germ is to people

has identical meaning but is an alternate form of the same concept
pathogenicity
vsvirulency
  • Specialized
1 8.7

The ability of a germ to cause disease in people or animals

focuses on the degree of harmfulness rather than mere ability to infect

Antonyms

harmlessness
1 3.3

The state of not causing harm or danger

benignity
1 8.1

A kind, gentle way of acting that makes people feel safe

Surface Forms

virulency singular
virulencies plural

Morphology

virulency = virulence (transparent) = virul + ency

An orthographic variant of 'virulence' (it represents the same nominal idea derived from 'virulent'), so the meaning is directly derived from the recognizable base.

Etymology

Virulency comes from the Latin word virus, which means 'poison', and is related to the word virulent. So in medicine, virulency measures how 'poisonous' or harmful a germ or infection is.