<B>infection, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a causing of disease in people, animals, and plants by the introduction of germs, such as bacteria or a virus. Air, water, clothing, and insects are all means of infection. <DD><B> 2. </B>a disease that can be spread from one person to another. <BR> <I>Ex. Measles is an infection.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the agent by which an infectious disease is communicated or transmitted. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) an influence, feeling, or idea spreading from one to another. <BR> <I>Ex. While her tears deplored the godlike man, Through all her train the soft infection ran (Alexander Pope).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>the fact or condition of being infected. <DD><B> 6. </B>(used humorously) affection; liking. <DD><B> 7. </B>(in Celtic languages) the alteration of a sound under the influence of a neighboring sound. </DL>
<A NAME="infectious">
<B>infectious, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(of a disease) spread by infection; caused by bacteria, virus, or other microorganisms that invade some part of the body. <BR> <I>Ex. Measles is an infectious disease.</I> (SYN) catching. <DD><B> 2. </B>causing infection. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) apt to spread from one to another. <BR> <I>Ex. He has a jolly, infectious laugh.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Law.) (of contraband, hijacked, or unlawfully possessed goods) tainting with illegality. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) infected with disease. adv. <B>infectiously.</B> noun <B>infectiousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="infectiousbronchitis">
<B>infectious bronchitis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an acute, highly contagious, viral, respiratory disease of poultry. </DL>
<A NAME="infectioushepatitis">
<B>infectious hepatitis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a contagious, systemic virus disease of man and animals characterized by inflammation of the liver, fever, and usually jaundice; hepatitis A. </DL>
<A NAME="infectiousmononucleosis">
<B>infectious mononucleosis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a disease characterized by fever, swelling of the lymph glands, and often an enlarged liver and spleen; glandular fever. </DL>
<A NAME="infective">
<B>infective, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> causing infection; infectious. <BR> <I>Ex. It has been shown that pneumonic plague patients may be directly infective (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="infectivity">
<B>infectivity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> infectious quality or condition. <BR> <I>Ex. A group of St. Louis biochemists has taken apart and reassembled a virus without destroying its infectivity (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="infector">
<B>infector, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person or thing that infects. </DL>
<A NAME="infecund">
<B>infecund, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> not fecund; unfruitful; barren. </DL>
<A NAME="infecundity">
<B>infecundity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the state of being infecund; unfruitfulness; barrenness. </DL>
<B>infelicity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>unsuitability; inappropriateness. <DD><B> 2. </B>something unsuitable, such as an inappropriate word or remark. <DD><B> 3. </B>the state of being unhappy or unfortunate. <BR> <I>Ex. ... that pure infelicity which accompanies some people in their walk through life (Charles Lamb).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>an unfortunate circumstance or event; misfortune. </DL>
<B>infer, </B>verb, <B>-ferred,</B> <B>-ferring.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to find out by reasoning; come to believe after thinking; conclude. <BR> <I>Ex. People inferred that so able a governor would make a good President.</I> (SYN) gather, deduce. <DD><B> 2. </B>to be a sign or hint of; suggest indirectly; indicate; imply. <BR> <I>Ex. Ragged clothing infers poverty.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) <DD><B> a. </B>to bring on; cause. <BR> <I>Ex. Who ... fled fast away, afeard Of villainy to be to her inferred (Edmund Spenser).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to adduce; allege. <BR> <I>Ex. Full well hath Clifford play'd the orator, Inferring arguments of mighty force (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to draw inferences. </DL>
<A NAME="inferable">
<B>inferable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be inferred or drawn as a conclusion; deducible. </DL>
<A NAME="inferably">
<B>inferably, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> so as to be inferred. </DL>
<A NAME="inference">
<B>inference, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or process of inferring. <BR> <I>Ex. to form a judgment by inference from known facts. What happened is only a matter of inference; no one saw the accident.</I> (SYN) deduction, illation, presumption, assumption, surmise. <DD><B> 2. </B>that which is inferred; conclusion. <BR> <I>Ex. to make rash inferences. What inference do you draw from smelling smoke?</I> (SYN) deduction, illation, presumption, assumption, surmise. </DL>
<A NAME="inferential">
<B>inferential, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with inference; depending on inference. </DL>
<A NAME="inferentially">
<B>inferentially, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> by inference. </DL>
<A NAME="inferior">
<B>inferior, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>low in quality; below average; below most others. <BR> <I>Ex. an inferior mind, an inferior grade of coffee.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>lower in quality; not so good; worse. <BR> <I>Ex. His grades are inferior this semester. This cloth is inferior compared to real silk.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>lower in position or rank. <BR> <I>Ex. A lieutenant is an inferior officer compared to a captain.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Botany.) <DD><B> a. </B>growing below some other part or organ. <BR> <I>Ex. an inferior calyx, an inferior ovary.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>belonging to the part of a flower that is farthest from the main stem. <DD><B> 5. </B>(of animal organs) below or posterior to others of the same kind, or the usual or normal position. <BR> <I>Ex. the inferior vena cava.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Astronomy.) <DD><B> a. </B>between the earth and the sun. <BR> <I>Ex. an inferior conjunction of Mercury with the sun.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>below the horizon. <BR> <I>Ex. the inferior passage of a star.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>(Printing.) set below the main line of type, as letters or numerals are in chemical formulas. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person who is lower in rank or station; subordinate. <BR> <I>Ex. A good leader gets on well with inferiors.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>something that is below average; an inferior thing. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Printing.) an inferior letter. <BR><I>expr. <B>inferior to,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>not so good or so great as; worse than. </I> <I>Ex. This cloth is inferior to real silk.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>below; lower than; less than. <BR> <I>Ex. A lieutenant is inferior to a captain.</I> adv. <B>inferiorly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="inferiority">
<B>inferiority, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> inferior nature or condition; quality of being inferior. </DL>
<A NAME="inferioritycomplex">
<B>inferiority complex,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an abnormal feeling of being inferior to other people, leading to a variety of symptoms and sometimes compensated for by overly aggressive behavior. </DL>
<A NAME="inferiorvocalcords">
<B>inferior vocal cords,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the lower of two pairs of vocal cords, which upon vibration produces the sound of voice. </DL>
<A NAME="infernal">
<B>infernal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>of the lower world; of hell. <DD><B> b. </B>of the lower world which the ancient Greeks and Romans thought was the abode of the dead. <DD><B> 2. </B>fit to have come from hell; hellish; diabolical. <BR> <I>Ex. The heartless conqueror showed infernal cruelty.</I> (SYN) fiendish, devilish. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Informal.) abominable; outrageous. <BR> <I>Ex. If you go ashore, you will get into some infernal row (Herman Melville).</I> (SYN) confounded, detestable, execrable. adv. <B>infernally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="infernality">
<B>infernality, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being infernal. </DL>
<A NAME="infernalmachine">
<B>infernal machine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a disguised bomb or other explosive apparatus for maliciously destroying life and property. </DL>
<A NAME="inferno">
<B>inferno, </B>noun, pl. <B>-nos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=hell.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a place of torment like hell. <BR> <I>Ex. Firemen fought their way through a roaring inferno of flames.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="inferoanterior">
<B>inferoanterior, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> situated below and in front. </DL>
<A NAME="inferrer">
<B>inferrer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who infers. </DL>
<B>infertile, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> not fertile; not fruitful; sterile. (SYN) unproductive, barren. </DL>
<A NAME="infertility">
<B>infertility, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> lack of fertility; being infertile. </DL>
<A NAME="infest">
<B>infest, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to swarm in or about so as to trouble or disturb, frequently or in large numbers. <BR> <I>Ex. Mosquitoes infest swamps. The mountains were infested with robbers.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to spread over; overrun. <BR> <I>Ex. The landscape was drab and infested with brick ovens (Atlantic).</I> noun <B>infester.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="infestation">
<B>infestation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the action of infesting. <BR> <I>Ex. Ravenous grasshoppers descend on Southwestern rangelands in the worst infestation since World War II (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the state of being infested. <DD><B> 3. </B>anything that infests. </DL>
<A NAME="infeudation">
<B>infeudation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (English Law.) <DD><B> 1a. </B>the conferring of an estate in fee. <DD><B> b. </B>the feudal relation which such a grant established. <DD><B> 2. </B>the granting of tithes to laymen. </DL>
<A NAME="infibulate">
<B>infibulate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-lated,</B> <B>-lating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to fasten or confine with or as if with a buckle, clasp, ring, or pin. </DL>
<A NAME="infibulation">
<B>infibulation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of infibulating. <DD><B> 2. </B>the fastening of the sexual organs with a fibula or clasp to prevent copulation. </DL>
