infected

adjective

in·​fect·​ed in-ˈfek-təd 

: having an infection : contaminated with an infective agent (such as a bacterium or virus)

an infected wound

Through a number of different means, these viruses persist at very low, hard-to-detect levels in infected cells.

—The Journal of the American Medical Association

She explains that leptospirosis bacteria are shed in the urine of infected animals.

—Tania Banak

The fungus produces as many as 1 million conidia per square centimeter of infected leaf surface.

—G. B. Lucas

Examples of infected in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In nearly all human cases, the patients had been exposed to infected animals. —Carma Hassan, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025

Researchers estimate that between 7,000 and 15,000 infected animals are unknowingly consumed by hunter families annually, a number that increases every year as the disease spreads across the continent. —Jim Robbin, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025

Rather than sending June to the hospital when her infected gallstone worsened, Tom performed a combo ceremony. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2025

The bone was in good condition but was surrounded by unsalvageable tissue and at a high risk of becoming infected or necrotic, a term for dying, doctors said. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 29 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of infect

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above