Infectious

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: in=fec=tious

CIDE DICTIONARY

Infectious, a. [Cf. F. infectieux.].

•  Having qualities that may infect; communicable or caused by infection; pestilential; epidemic; as, an infectious fever; infectious clothing; infectious water; infectious vices.  [1913 Webster]

  "Where the infectious pestilence."  [1913 Webster]
•  Corrupting, or tending to corrupt or contaminate; vitiating; demoralizing.  [1913 Webster]

  "It [the court] is necessary for the polishing of manners . . . but it is infectious even to the best morals to live always in it."  [1913 Webster]
•  Contaminating with illegality; exposing to seizure and forfeiture.  [1913 Webster]

  "Contraband articles are said to be of an infectious nature."  [1913 Webster]
•  Capable of being easily diffused or spread; sympathetic; readily communicated; as, infectious mirth.  [1913 Webster]

  "The laughter was so genuine as to be infectious."

Syn. -- See Contagious.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Infectious, adj.
1 infecting with disease.
2 (of a disease) liable to be transmitted by air, water, etc.
3 (of emotions etc.) apt to spread; quickly affecting others.

Derivative

infectiously adv. infectiousness n.

THESAURUS

Infectious

catching, communicable, contagious, deadly, destructive, endemic, envenomed, epidemial, epidemic, epiphytotic, epizootic, infective, inoculable, irresistible, malign, malignant, mephitic, miasmal, miasmatic, miasmic, noxious, pandemic, pestiferous, pestilent, pestilential, poisonous, sporadic, spreading, sympathetic, taking, toxic, toxicant, toxiferous, transmissible, venenate, veneniferous, venenous, venomous, virulent, zymotic

ROGET THESAURUS

Infectious

Insalubrity

N insalubrity, unhealthiness, nonnaturals, plague spot, malaria, death in the pot, contagion, toxicity, insalubrious, unhealthy, unwholesome, noxious, noisome, morbific, morbiferous, mephitic, septic, azotic, deleterious, pestilent, pestiferous, pestilential, virulent, venomous, envenomed, poisonous, toxic, toxiferous, teratogenic, narcotic, contagious, infectious, catching, taking, epidemic, zymotic, epizootic, innutritious, indigestible, ungenial, uncongenial, deadly.