infect

USin-FEKT/ɪnˈfɛkt/

Formsinfects, infecting, infected

5 meanings of infect

1
verbtransitive
To pass germs into someone's body so the germs begin to make the person sick.
Like passing a cold to a friend by sneezing close to them.
A single mosquito can infect a person with malaria.
Doctors feared the deep wound might infect the surrounding tissue.
Similarstrike, affect
Note
2
verbtransitive
To put germs onto an object or into a substance, making it unsafe.
Like a drop of dye spreading through clean water and spoiling it.
Dirty hands can infect the food you serve to guests.
Floodwater may infect the town's drinking supply.
Similarcontaminate, taint, pollute
Oppositedisinfect, sterilize, decontaminate
3
verbtransitive
To spread your excitement or feeling to other people so they feel it too.
Like a yawn that spreads around a room until everyone is yawning.
Her excitement quickly infected the whole team.
A good teacher can infect students with a love of reading.
Similarinspire, fill, imbue, affect
Note

Less common meanings

4
adjectiveobsolete
Affected by a disease and carrying an illness.
And in the imitation of these twain, / Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns / With an imperial voice, many are infect.
c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”Here, infect means infected, tainted as if by disease.
Note
5
adjectiverare
Showing an action that is still going on and not yet finished.
Like a meal you are still cooking and have not served yet.
In Latin, the present tense is an infect form.
Teachers group the infect tenses together when explaining unfinished actions.
Similarimperfective
Oppositeperfect, perfective
Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–4

From Latin 'inficio', meaning to dye or taint, which came into English through Middle French 'infect'.

Meaning 5

From Latin 'infectus', made from 'in-' meaning 'not' and 'factus' meaning 'done or made'.