infect

Etymology

From Middle French infect, from Latin infectus, perfect passive participle of inficiō (“dye, taint”).

verb

1. (transitive) To bring (the body or part of it) into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen), so that the pathogen begins to act on the body; (of a pathogen) to come into contact with (a body or body part) and begin to act on it.
   Not everyone will be infected when an epidemic strikes.
   Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. 2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193
   Ms. Tang’s inevitable contact with people who are ill has started to worry her. It did not help when she learned that someone living in a building near her own, in Siu Sai Wan, had been infected by the virus. February 18, 2020, Isabella Kwai, “How a Pharmacy Handles Mask Hoarders and Coronavirus Fears”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-02-18, Asia Pacific
2. (transitive) To contaminate (an object or substance) with a pathogen.
3. (transitive) To make somebody enthusiastic about one's own passion, or to communicate a feeling to others, or a feeling communicating itself to others.
   Her passion for dancing has infected me.

adj

1. (obsolete) Infected.