# disease

Pronunciation: say "di-ZEEZ" US /dɪˈziz/, UK /dɪˈziːz/

## Noun

1. An abnormal condition in a person, animal, or plant that causes discomfort or interferes with normal function, unlike an injury, which usually happens all at once.
   - Simple: A sickness in a person, animal, or plant that causes pain or stops the body from working right.
   - _Public health programs aim to reduce the spread of disease in crowded cities._
   - _Veterinarians check the herd regularly for early signs of disease._
2. A harmful or abnormal condition affecting society, people's attitudes, or ways of living.
   - Simple: A harmful problem in society or in the way people think and live.
   - _Corruption became a disease eating away at the nation's institutions._
   - _Critics described runaway consumerism as a disease infecting modern life._

## Verb

3. To infect a person, animal, or plant with a disease.
   - Simple: To give a disease to a person, animal, or plant.

## Verb

4. To cause unease in someone; to annoy or irritate. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make someone feel upset or annoyed.

## Other meanings

- (noun) The state of being uneasy, troubled, or vexed.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English disese, borrowed through Anglo-Norman and Old French desaise, formed from des- plus aise ('ease'). By its surface form it is simply dis- + ease. It displaced the native English words adle (from Old English ādl) and cothe (from Old English coþu), both meaning 'disease'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/disease (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).