disease

[dih-zeez] /dɪˈziz/

noun

a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment.

any abnormal condition in a plant that interferes with its vital physiological processes, caused by pathogenic microorganisms, parasites, unfavorable environmental, genetic, or nutritional factors, etc.

any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society:

His fascination with executions is a disease.

decomposition of a material under special circumstances:

tin disease.

verb (used with object), diseased, diseasing.

to affect with disease; make ill.

Origin

1300-50; Middle English disese < Anglo-French dese(a)se, disaise; see dis-¹, ease

Related forms

diseasedly, adverb

diseasedness, noun

Synonyms

1. morbidity, complaint, derangement, distemper, indisposition, infirmity, disorder, malady.

Antonyms

1. health. 5. cure.

Examples from the web for disease

He had not been complaining of ill health, but no doubt died of heart disease.
Seventy-five percent of us die from cardiovascular disease, cancer, or stroke.
Ten years ago people talked confidently of stopping Alzheimer's disease in its tracks.
This fungal disease can be chemically controlled.
They start but never finish treatments— and act as dangerous "carriers," spreading the disease to others.
Alzheimer's disease is the fourth leading cause of death in this country.
By the early 20th century, medical science confidently considered the rapacious disease under control.
Compost only plant debris that's free of disease, insect pests, and weeds.
They found no link between mercury and the risk of heart disease.
But urban life may have also influenced human genes, making the descendants of ancient city dwellers more resistant to disease.

British Dictionary definitions for disease

disease

/dɪˈziːz/

noun

any impairment of normal physiological function affecting all or part of an organism, esp a specific pathological change caused by infection, stress, etc, producing characteristic symptoms; illness or sickness in general

a corresponding condition in plants

any situation or condition likened to this: the disease of materialism

adjective pathological

Word Origin

C14: from Old French desaise; see dis-1, ease

Word Origin and History for disease

early 14c., "discomfort, inconvenience," from Old French desaise "lack, want; discomfort, distress; trouble, misfortune; disease, sickness," from des- "without, away" (see dis-) + aise "ease" (see ease). Sense of "sickness, illness" in English first recorded late 14c.; the word still sometimes was used in its literal sense early 17c.

disease in Medicine

disease dis·ease (dĭ-zēz')
n.
A pathological condition of a body part, an organ, or a system resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.

Slang definitions & phrases for disease

disease

Related Terms

foot-in-mouth disease

Encyclopedia Article for disease

a harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism. A diseased organism commonly exhibits signs or symptoms indicative of its abnormal state. Thus, the normal condition of an organism must be understood in order to recognize the hallmarks of disease. Nevertheless, a sharp demarcation between disease and health is not always apparent

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