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Imbue vs Infect - What's the difference?

imbue | infect |

In lang=en terms the difference between imbue and infect

is that imbue is (transitive): to wet or stain an object completely with some physical quality while infect is to make somebody enthusiastic about one's own passion.

As verbs the difference between imbue and infect

is that imbue is (transitive): to wet or stain an object completely with some physical quality while infect is to bring into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen).

As an adjective infect is

(obsolete) infected.

imbue

English

Verb

(imbu)
  • (transitive): To wet or stain an object completely with some physical quality.
    • The shirt was imbued with his scent.
  • In general, to act in a way which results in an object becoming completely permeated or impregnated by some quality.
    • The entire text is imbued with the sense of melancholy and hopelessness.

    Usage notes

    * Imbue takes meaning from the word imbibe, which means "to absorb or to be filled with".

    infect

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To bring into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen).
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katie L. Burke
    • , title= In the News , volume=101, issue=3, page=193, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola.}}
  • To make somebody enthusiastic about one's own passion.

    • Antonyms

    * disinfect

    Derived terms

    * infection * infectible

    Related terms

    * infectious

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (obsolete) Infected.
  • * 1602 , , I. iii. 187:
    • And in the imitation of these twain, / Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns / With an imperial voice, many are infect .
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