as in to poison
to pass something harmful (such as a disease) to someone or something else
If you come to work when you're sick, you'll infect everyone in the office.
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Recent Examples of infect
Bassett’s Athena went to deliver a vial of anti-viral to Nash’s team, one of whom, Chimney (Kenneth Choi), had gotten infected.
—
Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 Apr. 2025
An adult who died in New Mexico was also found to be infected with measles.
—Bruce Handy, The Atlantic, 16 Apr. 2025
Listeria, according to the CDC, infects about 1,600 in the United States each year and kills about 260.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2025
If people take it after they have been infected, the drug can help to reduce the amount of virus the immune system has to manage and can lower the chances of severe disease.
—Alice Park, TIME, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infect
Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 Apr. 2025
An adult who died in New Mexico was also found to be infected with measles.
—Bruce Handy, The Atlantic, 16 Apr. 2025
Listeria, according to the CDC, infects about 1,600 in the United States each year and kills about 260.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2025
If people take it after they have been infected, the drug can help to reduce the amount of virus the immune system has to manage and can lower the chances of severe disease.
—Alice Park, TIME, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infect
Verb
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Until Henry momentarily excuses himself from the table, that is, and the person or persons behind these winky-wink messages tell her to poison Henry ASAP or the menacing guy currently hiding in her apartment will kill her boy.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2025
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Calls to poison control centers for pediatric melatonin ingestion increased 530 percent between 2012 and 2021, according to one analysis published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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If somehow they had been left out for too long or contaminated before they were frozen—by a dirty prep area or dirty utensils, for example—the freezing process does not kill the pathogens that can cause foodborne illnesses.—
Taylor Tobin,
Southern Living,
18 Apr. 2025
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But it has also been badly contaminated by the chemical manufacturing industry.—
Li Cohen,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Dodge won't spoil the surprise by confirming if the last one will be based on the Charger or the Challenger (or maybe both), but the evidence suggests the latter is more likely.—
Jack Fitzgerald,
Car and Driver,
13 Feb. 2023
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Farmers’ broiler chickens suffocate, and dairy products spoil.—
Monica Mark,
The Christian Science Monitor,
10 Feb. 2023
Verb
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That — a complete inability to defend without fouling — has been as much a hallmark of these Huskies as anything.—
Brendan Marks,
The Athletic,
22 Mar. 2025
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After taking two timeouts to get the ball inbounds, Arkansas finally got play restarted and KU fouled Arkansas’ Jonell Davis.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Infect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infect. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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