I. infect adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin infectus, past participle of inficere
archaic : infected
II. in·fect ə̇nˈfekt verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English infecten, from Latin infectus, past participle of inficere to stain, dye, taint, infect, from in- in- (II) + -ficere (from facere to do, make) — more at do
transitive verb
1. : to taint with decaying matter : contaminate with a disease-producing substance, germs, or bacteria
infect a lancet
2.
a. : to communicate a pathogen or a disease to an individual or organ)
clouds of mosquitoes infected the unprotected troops with malaria parasites
b. of a pathogenic organism : to invade (an individual or organ) usually by penetration — often used only of the actual penetration of the pathogen as distinguished from its subsequent growth in the host
the polio virus probably usually infects man through the nasal mucous membrane
— compare infection 2
3. : to communicate or affect as if by some subtle contact: as
a. : to taint by communication of something noxious or pernicious
he is deeply upset and manages to infect her with a sense of guilt — London Calling
intellectuals … become agents of discontent who infect rich and poor, high and low — Irving Howe
b. : to work upon or seize upon so as to induce sympathy, belief, or support
infected everyone with his zeal for nature — Van Wyck Brooks
an exuberance that tends to infect the whole enterprise — E.J.Kahn
4. obsolete : dye , stain
5. : infest
fish infected with parasites
condemned liver infected with flukes
6. : to subject (as whole cargo of an owner) to forfeiture because a part is contraband
7. : to induce a change in quality in (the sound of a neighboring syllable)
intransitive verb
: to become infected
didn't pay any attention to it because I never infect — Ernest Hemingway
III. infect transitive verb
of a computer virus : to become transmitted and copied to (as a computer)