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
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of Nov. 26, 68 people had been infected.
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Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 12 Dec. 2024
The virus has also infected wild birds including cases in mallards, northern pintails and trumpeter swans in the state.
—Rick Barrett, Journal Sentinel, 12 Dec. 2024
Nuzzo, of the Brown University School of Public Health, said that while antivirals are important for anyone exposed to or infected with the virus, their effectiveness is limited by a very small window of time in which they must be given.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 11 Dec. 2024
The Great Flu Pandemic from 1918 and 1920 saw at least a third of the world’s population infected with H1N1 flu.
—Katherine Hignett, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for infect 
Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 12 Dec. 2024
The virus has also infected wild birds including cases in mallards, northern pintails and trumpeter swans in the state.
—Rick Barrett, Journal Sentinel, 12 Dec. 2024
Nuzzo, of the Brown University School of Public Health, said that while antivirals are important for anyone exposed to or infected with the virus, their effectiveness is limited by a very small window of time in which they must be given.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 11 Dec. 2024
The Great Flu Pandemic from 1918 and 1920 saw at least a third of the world’s population infected with H1N1 flu.
—Katherine Hignett, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for infect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infect
Verb
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Dexter’s first kill, initiated by the nurse poisoning Harry when he’s hospitalized after a heart attack, is intercut with Deb’s high school volleyball game.Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024
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Moscow’s disastrous war in Afghanistan in the 1980s poisoned its relations with the Muslim world, and even contributed to the collapse of the Soviet state.Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Outdoor cats can also be exposed to bird flu by consuming infected birds or other animals and by being in environments contaminated with the virus, or by consuming unpasteurized milk from infected cows.Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
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Among healthy people, eating food contaminated with salmonella often results in symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, which usually pass within a week.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
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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The Rockets want to control the glass, run the floor in transition and defend aggressively without fouling, but the absence of a true pecking order rears its head at the wrong times, especially in crunchtime.Eric Koreen, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024
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Even uglier: There then was a lengthy delay with 8:46 to play in the third period, on a sequence that began with a Herro drive and ended with Herro being fouled by the Pistons forward Tim Hardaway Jr.Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near infect
Cite this Entry
“Infect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infect. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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