- Sometimes, as distinguished from contagious disease, such a disease communicated by germs carried in the air or water, and thus spread without contact with the patient, as measles.
- Any disease caused by the entrance, growth, and multiplication of bacteria or protozoans in the body; a germ disease. It may not be contagious.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). infectious disease. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/infectious_disease/definitions/2021340 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "infectious disease" http://smartdefine.org/infectious_disease/definitions/2021340 (accessed September 28, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, infectious disease, Smart Define, viewed 28 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/infectious_disease/definitions/2021340>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "infectious disease" 27 May 2011. Web. 28 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/infectious_disease/definitions/2021340> |