as in severity
biting sharpness of feeling or expression
I was surprised by the virulence of the criticism
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Recent Examples of virulence
Assuming the contagiousness and virulence of Neolithic diseases increased through time, dense settlements such as Çatalhöyük may have reached a tipping point where the effects of disease outweighed the benefits of living closely together.
—
R. Alexander Bentley, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
Scientists emphasized that this hasn’t been linked to virulence or rapid transmission.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024
When a plague of unprecedented virulence sweeps the globe, the human race is all but wiped out.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 1 Oct. 2024
Those cases have decreased significantly in the U.S. The current strain, called clade 1b, is worrisome because of its virulence.
—Erika Edwards, NBC News, 5 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for virulence
R. Alexander Bentley, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
Scientists emphasized that this hasn’t been linked to virulence or rapid transmission.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024
When a plague of unprecedented virulence sweeps the globe, the human race is all but wiped out.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 1 Oct. 2024
Those cases have decreased significantly in the U.S. The current strain, called clade 1b, is worrisome because of its virulence.
—Erika Edwards, NBC News, 5 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for virulence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virulence
Noun
-
Type 2 diabetes treatments can vary based on the severity of your condition, your lifestyle, and your overall health.—
Julia Ries,
Health,
9 Apr. 2025
-
In some studies, Vitamin A has been shown to reduce the severity of measles and the risk of death from the virus — but these studies were among highly malnourished populations in low-income countries.—
Sara Moniuszko,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Stolarz’s inclination to shout instructions at teammates on the ice, often with serious levels of hostility in the name of competition, comes to him naturally.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Datta writes that Indians had faced violent treatment at the hands of Japanese forces, even if the Chinese community bore the brunt of the Japanese hostility.—
H.M.A. Leow,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Slightly off-topic comments can derail it so far away from the original point, and it isn't always done with malice.—
Peter Suciu,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
To borrow another logical principle, Hanlon's razor: Don't ascribe to malice that which can be otherwise explained by rank incompetence.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Her symptoms include vomiting up clots of hair, bile and sewing pins; making scary pronouncements in a guttural voice that is not her own; and being unusually attractive to wasps, whose carcasses litter her bedclothes.—
Sarah Lyall,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2025
-
The agency also noted that Zinna had no evidence of infectious disease, trauma, or poisoning, and the rescue canine's stomach was empty except for small amounts of hair and bile, per AP.—
Kirsty Hatcher,
People.com,
17 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Virulence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virulence. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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