infected

adjective

in·​fect·​ed in-ˈfek-təd How to pronounce infected (audio)
: 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
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An infected person will experience symptoms from about a week to two weeks after exposure, according to the CDC. Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2025 After an initial period of high infection rates and rapid mortality — killing infected people within three days — changes to just one gene in the bacterium produced new strains that were less deadly and more transmissible, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science. Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 3 June 2025 The worms have a life cycle that involves living inside three hosts: first, the trumpet snail; then, a fish; and finally a warm-blooded vertebrate like birds or humans that are unlucky enough to eat the infected fish. Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 June 2025 The flatworms first infect the snail, then a fish, and finally a warm-blooded vertebrate, like a bird or a human, that consumes the infected fish. City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for infected

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of infect

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of infected was in 1534

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Cite this Entry

“Infected.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infected. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.

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