noun · 11 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
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/ɪnˈfɛkʃən/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛkʃən
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:IH2 N F EH1 K SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The act or process of infecting.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: medicine, pathology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
An uncontrolled growth of harmful microorganisms in a host.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A disease caused by such presence of a pathogen.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: infectious disease
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A visible sign of such a disease, such as the suppuration of a wound.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
(international law) illegality that taints or contaminates a ship or cargo rendering it liable to seizure
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: illegality
6
noun
Meaning 6
moral corruption or contamination
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
ambitious men are led astray by an infection that is almost unavoidable
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: corruptness, corruption
7
noun
Meaning 7
the communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a contagion of mirth
the infection of his enthusiasm for poetry
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: contagion
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: communication
8
noun
Meaning 8
an incident in which an infectious disease is transmitted
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: contagion, transmission
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: incident
9
noun
Meaning 9
(medicine) the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms and their multiplication which can lead to tissue damage and disease
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: pathologic process, pathological process
Narrower terms: zymosis
10
noun
Meaning 10
(phonetics) the alteration of a speech sound under the influence of a neighboring sound
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: linguistic process
11
noun
Meaning 11
the pathological state resulting from the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: ill health, unhealthiness, health problem