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
Engel and his kids were on a flight that arrived in Boston from Florida on April 14, along with a person the Boston Public Health Commission says was infected with the virus.
—
Samantha Chaney, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026
But for anyone infected who also has an immunocompromising condition or a liver condition, mortality reaches 50–60 percent.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 28 Apr. 2026
Kehlani’s mood is contagious enough to infect otherwise okay collaborations with R&B institutions.
—Alfred Soto, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026
And in Guatemala in the 1940s, more than 1,000 people — many from society’s margins — were deliberately infected with syphilis, gonorrhea, and chancroid to study the natural course of disease.
—Uzma Rentia, STAT, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for infect
Samantha Chaney, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026
But for anyone infected who also has an immunocompromising condition or a liver condition, mortality reaches 50–60 percent.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 28 Apr. 2026
Kehlani’s mood is contagious enough to infect otherwise okay collaborations with R&B institutions.
—Alfred Soto, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026
And in Guatemala in the 1940s, more than 1,000 people — many from society’s margins — were deliberately infected with syphilis, gonorrhea, and chancroid to study the natural course of disease.
—Uzma Rentia, STAT, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for infect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infect
Verb
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Who cares about the fact that her friend cheated when her child was poisoned by her husband and her father?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
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Kuroda admitted to using chloroform, paraformaldehyde (PFA), and Trizol to poison his co-worker's water bottle and shoes, according to a Dane County Court criminal complaint.—
Robert McGreevy,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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An expert who spoke to New York magazine estimated that about 30 percent of the peptides tested for clients were contaminated or otherwise tainted.—
Erin Vanderhoof,
Vanity Fair,
29 Apr. 2026
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In Peru, zinc mining has contaminated the Cunas watershed.—
Abraham Nunbogu,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Naturally, trouble spoils the crew’s relaxation in the form of an ocean princess named Yura (Allegra Clark; Saoiri Onishi) on the run from baddies Zodon (Christopher Corey Smith; Koichi Domoto) and Djeese (Yuri Lowenthal; Koji Yusa).—
Beatrice Loayza,
Variety,
1 May 2026
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Cincy spoiled the shutout in the ninth off reliever Jimmy Herget when Will Benson tagged him for a two-run homer.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Harper hacked at a 3-0 pitch and fouled it.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Ballesteros went down 1-2 against Dreyer, fouled off three of the next four pitches and took two balls to force a nine-pitch walk that loaded the bases.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Infect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infect. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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