infection
[noun]
Synonyms: contamination, contagion, corruption, defilement, poison, pollution, virus

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English Thesaurus: illness, disease, infection, condition, problem, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

in‧fec‧tion W3 /ɪnˈfekʃən/ noun
[Word Family: noun: infection, disinfectant; adjective: infectious, infected; verb: infect ≠ disinfect; adverb: infectiously]

1. [countable] a disease that affects a particular part of your body and is caused by bacteria or a virus:
The baby had an ear infection.
infection of/in
an infection of the bladder

2. [uncountable] when someone is infected by a disease:
Always sterilize the needle to prevent infection.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

infection
noun
ADJ. heavy, nasty, serious, severe | mild, minor, moderate | acute | chronic | recurrent | further | primary, secondary If the primary infection is not treated further outbreaks may occur.
new Over 90% of all new infections occur in the developing world.
rare | bacterial, fungal, viral | chest, ear, etc. | respiratory, urinary, etc. | herpes, HIV, etc.
VERB + INFECTION have, suffer (from) He's suffering from an acute infection of the lower respiratory tract.
be at risk from/of, be prone/susceptible/vulnerable to Goats appear to be more susceptible to the infection than sheep.
be exposed to Vaccination is essential to protect people exposed to hepatitis B infection.
acquire, catch, contract, develop, get She's always getting chest infections.
pass (on), spread, transmit The infection is passed on through the horse feed.
carry Almost all the sheep on the farm carried the infection.
guard against, protect sb/sth from to protect the body from infection
avoid, prevent | combat, fight The virus affects the body's immune system so that it cannot fight infection.
fight off, kill Normally, white blood cells fight off and kill infections.
recover from | leave/make sb susceptible to, leave/make sb vulnerable to | die from/of | diagnose (sb with) | treat (sb for)
INFECTION + VERB develop, occur an infection that occurs in swans
spread They want to prevent the infection spreading to other parts of the body.
cause sth, result in sth Heavy lung infections may result in pneumonia.
PREP. in~ In acute infections of the urinary tract the patient may suffer severe pain.
~ by infection of people by the virus
~ from infection from sewage water
~ through infection through unsafe sex
~ with infection with bacteria
PHRASES a cause of infection, the onset of infection The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.
resistance to infection Taking vitamin C builds up your resistance to infection.
a risk of infection, a site of infection (medical) The urethra was the primary site of infection
a source of infection We are trying to trace the source of infection.
the spread of infection
 ⇒ Special page at ILLNESS

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

infection

have an infection
I think you’ve got an infection, so you need to rest.
suffer from an infection
He was suffering from an infection of the lungs.
get/develop an infection
She got a nasty throat infection which meant she couldn’t sing.
treat an infection
Antibiotics are used to treat the infection.
fight/combat an infection
A new drug is being developed to combat the infection.
spread an infection (also transmit an infection formal)
Pregnant women can transmit the infection to their unborn child.
an infection spreads
The infection spread to her chest.
an infection clears up (=goes away)
Although the infection cleared up, he still felt weak.
be exposed to an infection
He was exposed to the infection while he was travelling in India.
serious/severe
He was admitted to hospital with a serious infection.
slight/minor (=not serious)
She’s suffering from a slight infection.
nasty informal (=a serious infection)
He’s got a really nasty infection.
acute medical (=a serious infection that develops suddenly)
The disease usually occurs as an acute infection of the throat.
an ear/eye infection
She was given antibiotics for an ear infection.
a chest infection (=an infection in the lungs)
I’ve got a bad cough, but the doctor says it isn’t a chest infection.
a throat/kidney etc infection
He developed a severe throat infection.
a bacterial/viral/fungal infection (=caused by bacteria, a virus, or a fungus)
Antibiotics are not effective against viral infections.
a secondary infection medical (=an additional infection that happens as a result of the main illness)
Often, scratching the skin because it is itchy results in secondary infection.
the source of an infection
Doctors are trying to locate the source of the infection.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

illness something wrong with your health which makes you feel ill:
Her husband was in hospital for six months with a serious illness.
disease a particular illness, especially one that spreads to other people easily or that affects one part of your body:
childhood diseases such as measles and chickenpox
heart disease
infection an illness that is caused by bacteria or a virus:
His cough got worse and worse and became a chest infection.
condition a health problem that affects you permanently or for a long time:
a medical condition such as asthma
a heart condition
problem [usually after a noun] something that is wrong with a particular part of your body or your health in general:
a serious back problem
health problems
trouble [singular, only after a noun] illness or pain that affects a particular part of your body:
I’ve had a bit of stomach trouble.
disorder formal an illness that prevents a particular organ of your body from working properly, or affects the way you behave:
a liver disorder
a blood disorder
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder.
bug informal an illness that spreads to other people very easily but that is not very serious:
There’s a bug going round at school and a lot of the children are absent.
a flu bug
complaint medical an illness that affects a particular part of your body, especially one that is not very serious – used by doctors:
a minor skin complaint
Deakin suffers from a back complaint called arachnoiditis.
ailment /ˈeɪlmənt/ formal an illness that affects a particular part of your body, especially one that is not serious:
People often go to their doctor about relatively minor ailments.
The ointment is used to treat ailments such as small wounds and insect bites.
sickness the state of being ill, especially when it stops you working:
absence from work due to sickness
ill health formal the state of being ill, usually for a long period of time:
Research shows that there is a link between air pollution and ill health.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲