Standard Lemma guide

chlamydia

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /kləˈmɪd.i.ə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪdiə
  • CMU ARPABET: K L AE0 M AY1 D IY0 AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: K L AE0 M IH1 D IY0 AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of several common, often asymptomatic, sexually transmitted diseases caused by the microorganism Chlamydia trachomatis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any of various coccoid microorganisms of the genus Chlamydia that are pathogenic to humans and other animals.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

coccoid rickettsia infesting birds and mammals; cause infections of eyes and lungs and genitourinary tract

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: eubacteria, eubacterium, true bacteria

Narrower terms: Chlamydia psittaci, C. psittaci, Chlamydia trachomatis, C. trachomatis

4

noun

Meaning 4

a sexually transmitted infection caused by bacteria of the genus Chlamydia

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: venereal disease, VD, venereal infection, social disease, Cupid's itch, Cupid's disease, Venus's curse, dose, sexually transmitted disease, STD

History

Etymology

From New Latin chlamydia, from Ancient Greek χλαμύδιον (khlamúdion, “small cloak”), from χλαμύς (khlamús, “cloak”).

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 衣原菌 (yīyuánjūn) — sexually transmitted disease
  • Chinese Mandarin: 衣原體 /衣原体 (yīyuántǐ) — sexually transmitted disease
  • Chinese Mandarin: 披衣菌 (pīyījūn) — sexually transmitted disease
  • Esperanto: klamidio — sexually transmitted disease
  • Estonian: klamüüdia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Finnish: klamydia — sexually transmitted disease
  • French: chlamydia — sexually transmitted disease
  • German: Chlamydien — sexually transmitted disease
  • Greek: χλαμύδια (chlamýdia) — sexually transmitted disease
  • Indonesian: klamidia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Italian: clamidia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Japanese: クラミジア (kuramijia) — sexually transmitted disease
  • Latin: chlamydia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Māori: kōtureture — sexually transmitted disease
  • Norwegian: klamydia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Polish: chlamydia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Portuguese: clamídia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Russian: хлами́дия (xlamídija) — sexually transmitted disease
  • Spanish: clamidia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Swahili: klamidia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Swedish: klamydia — sexually transmitted disease
  • Turkish: klamidya — sexually transmitted disease
Real reading context

chlamydia in complete knowledge articles