virulence
Americannoun
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quality of being virulent.
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Bacteriology.
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the relative ability of a microorganism to cause disease; degree of pathogenicity.
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the capability of a microorganism to cause disease.
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venomous hostility.
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intense sharpness of temper.
noun
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the quality of being virulent
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the capacity of a microorganism for causing disease
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The capacity of a pathogen, such as a microorganism or toxin, to produce disease.
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“Virulent” substances or organisms are extremely pathogenic or toxic.
Etymology
Origin of virulence
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The Saudis understood that their dispute with the Emiratis had crossed into an anti-Israel posture of increasing virulence, that it was creating serious problems for them in Washington,” Dubowitz said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026
They compared the genomes of EF-responsive and non-responsive strains and found that, in addition to iron acquisition genes, responsive strains had genes associated with virulence and capsule production specifically.
From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2024
This innovative approach has provided valuable insights into how calcium supplementation can impede the pathogen's ability to form biofilms, a key factor in its virulence.
From Science Daily • May 1, 2024
"When tested for its effects on the fungus' ability to attack frogs, it seemed to actually increase the virulence of the fungus against the frog."
From Salon • Apr. 6, 2024
When the typhus fever had fulfilled its mission of devastation at Lowood, it gradually disappeared from thence; but not till its virulence and the number of its victims had drawn public attention on the school.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.