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Glite Dictionary
venereal infection

venereal infection

1 5.8
A disease people get through sex
  • noun
  • /vəˈnɪr.i.əl ɪnˈfɛk.ʃən/
  • NSFW
translation icon : infección venérea
  • She's got crabs, lice, and about eight billion venereal infections, and every ingrown hair and toenail usually develops into this oozing, life-threatening abscess.

Examples

  • Where there's a pre-existing venereal infection such as herpes, it's particularly dangerous.

  • The article explained that in government bureaus there were special medical clinics and doctors whose duties were the discreet treatment of venereal infections.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Maintaining good hygiene can significantly reduce the risk of contracting a venereal infection.

  • The clinic offers confidential testing and treatment for venereal infections to ensure the community's health.

  • He was advised to seek medical help immediately after being diagnosed with a venereal infection.

Synonyms

STD
vsvenereal infection
  • NSFW
49 3.7

An infection you get through sexual contact

is the full phrase rather than the shortened abbreviation using infection word
sexually transmitted disease
vsvenereal infection
  • Specialized
29 2.7

An illness you can get from someone when you have sex

focuses on the same condition but uses infection in place of disease term
dose
vsvenereal infection
  • NSFW
12 9.9

An infection you catch from sexual contact

uses the modern clinical infection name rather than old-fashioned informal slang
venereal disease
vsvenereal infection
  • NSFW
7 3.7

A disease spread by sexual contact

uses infection as its preferred clinical term rather than disease label
VD
vsvenereal infection
  • NSFW
6 7.4

A contagious infection spread by sexual contact

acts as the shorter form while the preferred term uses infection wording
social disease
vsvenereal infection
  • NSFW
1 4.6

An illness that spreads through sexual contact, like syphilis or gonorrhea

focuses on the medical infection aspect rather than social implications
Cupid's itch
vsvenereal infection
  • NSFW
9.9

An infection you catch from another person during sex

is the standard medical infection term rather than a light or playful name

Surface Forms

venereal infection singular
venereal infections plural

Morphology

venereal + infection

The meaning 'an infection transmitted through sexual intercourse' is directly compositional from 'venereal' (relating to sexual intercourse/sexually transmitted) and 'infection' (illness). This adjective+noun pattern is standard and has clear equivalents in many languages, so a learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Venereal infection comes from the name of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, because venereal once meant 'connected to sexual love'. So the phrase was used for illnesses spread by sex and today it means an infection 'passed during sex'.