Standard Lemma guide

infective

adj · 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.

  • /ɪnˈfɛktɪv/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛktɪv
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N F EH1 K T IH0 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Able to cause infection; infectious

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person who is capable of spreading a disease by infecting others.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: epidemiology, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

able to cause disease

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • infective agents
  • pathogenic bacteria

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: morbific, pathogenic

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

caused by infection or capable of causing infection

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • viruses and other infective agents
  • a carrier remains infective without himself showing signs of the disease

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: infectious

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English infect Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English infective From infect + -ive.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: infektiös — able to cause infection
  • Hungarian: fertőző — able to cause infection
  • Hungarian: ragályos — able to cause infection
  • Italian: infettivo — able to cause infection
  • Korean: 감염성 (gamyeomseong) — able to cause infection
  • Polish: infekcyjny — able to cause infection
  • Polish: zakaźny — able to cause infection