Adjacent Words

Disease definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISEASE, n. Dizeze. [dis and ease.]
1. In its primary sense, pain, uneasiness, distress, and so used by Spenser; but in this sense, obsolete.
2. The cause of pain or uneasiness; distemper; malady; sickness; disorder; any state of a living body in which the natural functions of the organs are interrupted or disturbed, either by defective or preternatural action, without a disrupture of parts by violence, which is called a wound. The first effect of disease is uneasiness or pain, and the ultimate effect is death. A disease may affect the whole body, or a particular limb or part of the body. We say a diseased limb; a disease in the head or stomach; and such partial affection of the body is called a local or topical disease. The word is also applied to the disorders of other animals, as well as to those of man; and to any derangement of the vegetative functions of plants.
The shafts of disease shoot across our path in such a variety of courses, that the atmosphere of human life is darkened by their number, and the escape of an individual becomes almost miraculous.
3. A disordered state of the mind or intellect, by which the reason is impaired.
4. In society, vice; corrupt state of morals. Vices are called moral diseases.
A wise man converses with the wicked, as a physician with the sick, not to catch the disease, but to cure it.
5. Political or civil disorder, or vices in a state; any practice which tends to disturb the peace of society, or impede or prevent the regular administration of government.
The instability, injustice and confusion introduced into the public councils have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have every where perished.
DISEASE, v.t. dizeze.
1. To interrupt or impair any or all the natural and regular functions of the several organs of a living body; to afflict with pain or sickness to make morbid; used chiefly in the passive participle, as a diseased body, a diseased stomach; but diseased may here be considered as an adjective.
2. To interrupt or render imperfect the regular functions of the brain, or of the intellect; to disorder; to derange.
3. To infect; to communicate disease to, by contagion.
4. To pain; to make uneasy.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English disese, from Anglo-French desease, desaise, from des- dis- + eise ease Date: 14th century 1. obsolete trouble 2. a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms ; sickness, malady 3. a harmful development (as in a social institution) • diseased adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 an unhealthy condition of the body (or a part of it) or the mind; illness, sickness. 2 a corresponding physical condition of plants. 3 a particular kind of disease with special symptoms or location. Etymology: ME f. OF desaise

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Disease Dis*ease", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Diseased; p. pr. & vb. n. Diseasing.] 1. To deprive of ease; to disquiet; to trouble; to distress. [Obs.] His double burden did him sore disease. --Spenser. 2. To derange the vital functions of; to afflict with disease or sickness; to disorder; -- used almost exclusively in the participle diseased. He was diseased in body and mind. --Macaulay.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Disease Dis*ease", n. [OE. disese, OF. desaise; des- (L. dis-) + aise ease. See Ease.] 1. Lack of ease; uneasiness; trouble; vexation; disquiet. [Obs.] So all that night they passed in great disease. --Spenser. To shield thee from diseases of the world. --Shak. 2. An alteration in the state of the body or of some of its organs, interrupting or disturbing the performance of the vital functions, and causing or threatening pain and weakness; malady; affection; illness; sickness; disorder; -- applied figuratively to the mind, to the moral character and habits, to institutions, the state, etc. Diseases desperate grown, By desperate appliances are relieved. --Shak. The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public counsels have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have every where perished. --Madison. Disease germ. See under Germ. Syn: Distemper; ailing; ailment; malady; disorder; sickness; illness; complaint; indisposition; affection. -- Disease, Disorder, Distemper, Malady, Affection. Disease is the leading medical term. Disorder mean? much the same, with perhaps some slight reference to an irregularity of the system. Distemper is now used by physicians only of the diseases of animals. Malady is not a medical term, and is less used than formerly in literature. Affection has special reference to the part, organ, or function disturbed; as, his disease is an affection of the lungs. A disease is usually deep-seated and permanent, or at least prolonged; a disorder is often slight, partial, and temporary; malady has less of a technical sense than the other terms, and refers more especially to the suffering endured. In a figurative sense we speak of a disease mind, of disordered faculties, and of mental maladies.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(diseases) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. A disease is an illness which affects people, animals, or plants, for example one which is caused by bacteria or infection. ...the rapid spread of disease in the area. ...illnesses such as heart disease... N-VAR

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Disorder, distemper, malady, complaint, ail, ailment, sickness, illness, indisposition, infirmity.

Moby Thesaurus

affection, affliction, ailment, bane, blight, bug, bugbear, burden, calamity, cancer, complaint, condition, contagion, contaminate, crushing burden, curse, death, debility, decrepitude, destruction, disability, disorder, epizootic, evil, feebleness, grievance, harm, ill, illness, infect, infection, infirmity, infliction, malady, malaise, misery, murrain, nemesis, open wound, pest, pestilence, plague, running sore, scourge, sickliness, sickness, syndrome, taint, thorn, torment, unhealthiness, vexation, virus, visitation, woe