Table of Contents
Definition of Infectious Disease
(noun) A disease that can be passed from one individual to another.
Example of Infectious Disease
- Typhoid fever is an infectious disease and Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary, infected many people during her time as a cook.
Infectious Disease Pronunciation
Syllabification: in·fec·tious dis·ease
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /in-fEk-shuhs di-zEEz/
- British English – /in-fEk-shuhs di-zEEz/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ɪnˈfɛkʃəs dɪˈziz/
- British English – /ɪnˈfɛkʃəs dɪˈziːz/
Usage Notes
- Plural: infectious diseases
- Also called:
- transmissible disease
- communicable disease
Additional Information
- Medical Sociology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “infectious” and “disease” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Dobson, Mary J. 2007. Disease: The Extraordinary Stories behind History’s Deadliest Killers. London: Quercus.
- Kerr, Anne. 2004. Genetics and Society: A Sociology of Disease. London: Routledge.
- Leavitt, Judith Walzer. 1996. Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health. Boston: Beacon Press.
- U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health – Infectious Diseases – MedlinePlus: nlm.nih.gov
- The Infectious Diseases Society of America: idsociety.org
- World Health Organization – Infectious Diseases: who.int
Related Terms
- acute disease
- chronic disease
- disease
- disorder
- epidemiology
- health
- life expectancy
- stigmatization
- thanatology
Works Consulted
Bender, David A. 2014. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged. 6th ed. 2003. Glasgow, Scotland: Collins.
Kent, Michael. 2007. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Last, John M, ed. 2007. A Dictionary of Public Health. New York: Oxford University Press.
Martin, Elizabeth, ed. 2010. Concise Medical Dictionary. 8th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Martin, Elizabeth, and Robert Hine, eds. 2008. A Dictionary of Biology. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Martin, Elizabeth, and Tanya A. McFerran, eds. 2014. A Dictionary of Nursing. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Infectious Disease
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “infectious disease.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 16, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/infectious-disease/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
infectious disease. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/infectious-disease/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “infectious disease.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/infectious-disease/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“infectious disease.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/infectious-disease/>.