infect

[in-fekt] /ɪnˈfɛkt/
verb (used with object)
1.
to affect or contaminate (a person, organ, wound, etc.) with disease-producing germs.
2.
to affect with disease.
3.
to taint or contaminate with something that affects quality, character, or condition unfavorably:
to infect the air with poison gas.
4.
to corrupt or affect morally:
The news of the gold strike infected him with greed.
5.
to imbue with some pernicious belief, opinion, etc.
6.
to affect with a computer virus.
7.
to affect so as to influence feeling or action:
His courage infected the others.
8.
Law. to taint with illegality, or expose to penalty, forfeiture, etc.
verb (used without object)
9.
to become infected.
adjective
10.
Archaic. infected.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English infecten < Latin infectus (past participle of inficere to immerse in dye, discolor, taint, poison), equivalent to in- in-2 + -fec-, combining form of facere to do1, make (see fact) + -tus past participle suffix
Related forms
infectant, adjective
infectedness, noun
infector, infecter, noun
noninfected, adjective
noninfecting, adjective
preinfect, verb (used with object)
reinfect, verb (used with object)
uninfected, adjective
Can be confused
afflict, infect, inflict.
infect, infest, invest.
Synonyms
5. damage, corrupt. 6. touch, stir, arouse.
Examples from the web for infected
  • Rose mosaic virus is transmitted through infected rootstock or budwood during the commercial propagation process.
  • In late autumn or early winter, clumps of tan mushrooms may appear around the bases of infected plants.
  • If the infestation is light, cut off and burn infected stems and branches.
  • In their panic, the recently infected fled from the dying, unknowingly carrying the disease with them to neighboring communities.
  • By noon, my e-mail inbox was choked with messages from students who claimed to be infected.
  • Not surprisingly, after such intense long exposure, the president's staff has been infected.
  • But then, still a long time ago, another kind of inflection infected the verbs.
  • Then again, the factory line mentality is something that has infected our students as well.
  • Postmodernism has so greatly infected the field, that modern philosophers find themselves having little to say.
  • If the message is malicious, you will find your computer infected by a virus.
British Dictionary definitions for infected

infect

/ɪnˈfɛkt/
verb (mainly transitive)
1.
to cause infection in; contaminate (an organism, wound, etc) with pathogenic microorganisms
2.
(also intransitive) to affect or become affected with a communicable disease
3.
to taint, pollute, or contaminate
4.
to affect, esp adversely, as if by contagion
5.
(computing) to affect with a computer virus
6.
(mainly international law) to taint with crime or illegality; expose to penalty or subject to forfeiture
adjective
7.
(archaic) contaminated or polluted with or as if with a disease; infected
Derived Forms
infector, infecter, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Latin inficere to dip into, stain, from facere to make
Word Origin and History for infected

infect

v.

late 14c., from Latin infectus, past participle of inficere "to spoil, stain," literally "to put in to, dip into," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + facere "perform" (see factitious). Related: Infected; infecting.

infected in Medicine

infect in·fect (ĭn-fěkt')
v. in·fect·ed, in·fect·ing, in·fects

  1. To contaminate with a pathogenic microorganism or agent.

  2. To communicate a pathogen or disease to another organism.

  3. To invade and produce infection in an organ or body part.