infection
pronunciation
How to pronounce infection in British English:
UK [ɪnˈfekʃn]
How to pronounce infection in American English:
US [ɪnˈfekʃn]
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- Noun:
- the pathological state resulting from the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms
- (phonetics) the alteration of a speech sound under the influence of a neighboring sound
- (medicine) the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms and their multiplication which can lead to tissue damage and disease
- an incident in which an infectious disease is transmitted
- the communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people
- moral corruption or contamination
- (international law) illegality that taints or contaminates a ship or cargo rendering it liable to seizure
Word Origin
- infection (n.)
- late 14c., "infectious disease; contaminated condition;" from Old French infeccion "contamination, poisoning" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin infectionem (nominative infectio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin inficere (see infect). Meaning "communication of disease by agency of air or water" (distinguished from contagion, which is body-to-body communication), is from 1540s.
Example
- 1. Diabetes can reduce the body 's resistance to infection .
- 2. Incorrect use actually increases the chance of spreading infection .
- 3. Infection with hiv in this way is unusual .
- 4. The drugs leave patients prone to infection .
- 5. Is that enough to transmit infection ?