DictionaryAI

disease

Saydi-ZEEZ/dɪˈziz/UK/dɪˈziːz/

Pluraldiseases

Verbdiseases, diseasing, diseased

5 meanings of disease

Practice

  1. 1
    illnessnouncountable or uncountable
    A sickness in a person, animal, or plant that causes pain or stops the body from working right.

    Like a machine that slowly stops working because a part inside is broken.

    Washing your hands often helps stop disease from spreading.

    The old apple tree was weak with disease and slowly lost its leaves.

    UsageSay a disease for one kind, but just disease for sickness in general.

    Similarillness, sickness, ailment, disorder, infection

    Oppositehealth, wellness

  2. 2
    social problemnounfigurativelycountable
    A harmful problem in society or in the way people think and live.

    Like rust that slowly eats away at metal until it breaks.

    Greed can be a disease that slowly ruins a whole town.

    He called hatred a disease that passes from person to person.

    Similarcancer, plague, scourge, blight, malaise

    Note
  3. 3
    make sickverbtransitive
    To give a disease to a person, animal, or plant.

    Similarinfect, contaminate

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    verbobsolete
    To make someone feel upset or annoyed.
    Whyll he yett ſpeake there cam won from the rulers off the ſynagogis houſſe which ſayde to hym: Thy doughter is deed diſeaſe not the maſter.
    1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt (Tyndale Bible)Here, disease means to bother or trouble someone.

    Similartrouble, bother, annoy, disquiet

    Note
  2. 5
    nounarchaic
    Worry, trouble, or a feeling of not being at ease.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of disease apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from Old French, made from des- plus aise (meaning 'ease'). So it first meant a lack of ease.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts