dengue

noun

den·​gue ˈdeŋ-gē 

-ˌgā

: an acute infectious disease caused by a flavivirus (species Dengue virus of the genus Flavivirus), transmitted by aedes mosquitoes, and characterized by headache, severe joint pain, and a rash

called also breakbone fever, dengue fever

Examples of dengue in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Concerns among health officials have continued the spread of dengue fever as cases have reached unprecedented levels in the Americas. —Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024

For example, there are over 100 million cases of dengue each year, with South and Southeast Asia being major hotspots. —Philanthropy Asia Alliance Contributor, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024

The Summary Nearly 12 million cases of dengue fever have been recorded in the Americas this year, close to triple last year’s total. —Randi Richardson, NBC News, 16 Nov. 2024

Malaria, dengue fever, dysentery, and in a few cases typhus, hit man after man. —Salama Udaipurwala, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

dengue

noun

den·​gue ˈdeŋ-gē  -ˌgā 

: an acute infectious disease that is characterized by headache, severe joint pain, and a rash and that is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus (species Dengue virus) transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes

called also breakbone fever, dandy fever, dengue fever