virulent
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virulent
- /ˈvɪɹ(j)ʊl(ə)nt/ UK
- /-ɹ(j)ə-/ UK
- /ˈvɪɹ(j)ələnt/ US
Where it comes from
PIE word
*wisós
From Middle English virulent (“leaking or seeping pus, purulent; (of putrefaction) extremely severe (sense uncertain)”) [and other forms], borrowed from Latin vīrulentus (“poisonous”), from vīrus (“poison; venom; slime, slimy liquid; stinking smell; nasty taste”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wisós (“poison; slime; fluidity”)) + -ulentus (suffix meaning ‘abounding in, full of’, forming adjectives).
Sense 4 (“of a pathogen: replicating within its host cell, then immediately causing it to undergo lysis”) is derived from French virulent, which was first used in this sense by the French biologist François Jacob (1920–2013) and his co-authors in a 1953 article.
adjective more virulent · most virulent
-
Of animals, plants, or substances: extremely venomous or poisonous.
Opposite: harmless, nonvirulent
- Extremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious. The politicians were virulent in their hatred of the president.
-
Of a disease or disease-causing agent: malignant, able to cause damage to the host.
Opposite: benign, nonvirulent
- Of a pathogen: replicating within its host cell, then immediately causing it to undergo lysis.
Translations
Every language
adj extremely venomous or poisonous
| Português | virulento |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | hochgiftig |
adj extremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious
| Français | virulent |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | bösartig, boshaft |
| Română | virulent |
adj malignant, able to cause damage to the host
| Português | virulento |
|---|---|
| Français | virulent |
| Deutsch | virulent, extrem ansteckend, bösartig |
| Română | virulent |
| Русский | заразный zaraznyj |
adj of a pathogen: replicating within its host cell, then immediately causing it to undergo lysis
| Português | virulento |
|---|
Talk about this word "virulent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/virulent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. virulent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/virulent "virulent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/virulent.Cite this
@misc{virulent_2026,
title = {virulent},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/virulent},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
