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Pathogen vs Infect - What's the difference?

pathogen | infect |

As a noun pathogen

is (pathology|immunology) any organism or substance, especially a microorganism, capable of causing disease, such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa or fungi microorganisms are not considered to be pathogenic until they have reached a population size that is large enough to cause disease.

As a verb infect is

to bring into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen).

As a adjective infect is

(obsolete) infected.

pathogen

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (pathology, immunology) Any organism or substance, especially a microorganism, capable of causing disease, such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa or fungi. Microorganisms are not considered to be pathogenic until they have reached a population size that is large enough to cause disease.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-01
    • , author=Katie L. Burke , title=Ecological Dependency , volume=101, issue=1, page=64 , magazine= citation , passage=In his first book since the 2008 essay collection Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature , David Quammen looks at the natural world from yet another angle: the search for the next human pandemic, what epidemiologists call “the next big one.” His quest leads him around the world to study a variety of suspect zoonoses—animal-hosted pathogens that infect humans.}}

    Derived terms

    * pathogenic * pathogenesis * pathogenous * pathogeny

    Anagrams

    * *

    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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