infection

[in-fek-shuh n] /ɪnˈfɛk ʃən/
noun
1.
an act or fact of infecting; state of being infected.
2.
an infecting with germs of disease, as through the medium of infected insects, air, water, or clothing.
3.
an infecting agency or influence.
4.
an infectious disease:
Is this infection very dangerous?
5.
the condition of suffering an infection.
6.
corruption of another's opinions, beliefs, moral principles, etc.; moral contamination.
7.
an influence or impulse passing from one to another and affecting feeling or action.
8.
Grammar. (in Celtic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel; umlaut.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English infeccio(u)n < Late Latin infectiōn- (stem of infectiō). See infect, -ion
Related forms
noninfection, noun
postinfection, adjective
preinfection, noun
reinfection, noun
subinfection, noun
Can be confused
infection, inflection.
Examples from the web for infections
  • The use of parenteral antimicrobial drugs must be limited to serious infections.
  • infections are regarded as cutaneous, mucocutaneous, or visceral.
  • In dogs and other animals, scabies produces severe itching and secondary skin infections.
  • Lymphocytes higher with some viral infections such as glandular fever and.
  • The epidemiology of infections caused by mrsa is rapidly changing.
  • Early childhood infections, especially viral respiratory infections.
  • This is due to the occurrence of chronic, sinopulmonary infections.
  • Acute bronchitis is usually caused by viral or bacterial infections.
  • Diabetic foot infections are the leading cause of diabetic limb amputation.
  • However, only a few of those are known to cause human infections.
British Dictionary definitions for infections

infection

/ɪnˈfɛkʃən/
noun
1.
invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms
2.
the resulting condition in the tissues
3.
an infectious disease
4.
the act of infecting or state of being infected
5.
an agent or influence that infects
6.
persuasion or corruption, as by ideas, perverse influences, etc
Word Origin and History for infections

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.

infections in Medicine

infection in·fec·tion (ĭn-fěk'shən)
n.

  1. Invasion by and multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms in a bodily part or tissue, which may produce subsequent tissue injury and progress to overt disease through a variety of cellular or toxic mechanisms.

  2. An instance of being infected.

  3. An agent or a contaminated substance responsible for one's becoming infected.

  4. The pathological state resulting from having been infected.

  5. An infectious disease.

infections in Science
infection
(ĭn-fěk'shən)
The invasion of the body of a human or an animal by a pathogen such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus. Infections can be localized, as in pharyngitis, or widespread as in sepsis, and are often accompanied by fever and an increased number of white blood cells. Individuals with immunodeficiency syndromes are predisposed to certain infections. See also infectious disease, opportunistic infection.

infections in Culture

infection definition


Invasion of the body or a body part by a pathogenic organism, which multiplies and produces harmful effects on the body's tissues.