KISSING DISEASE

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does kissing disease mean? 

• KISSING DISEASE (noun)
  The noun KISSING DISEASE has 1 sense:

1. an acute disease characterized by fever and swollen lymph nodes and an abnormal increase of mononuclear leucocytes or monocytes in the bloodstream; not highly contagious; some believe it can be transmitted by kissing

  Familiarity information: KISSING DISEASE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KISSING DISEASE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An acute disease characterized by fever and swollen lymph nodes and an abnormal increase of mononuclear leucocytes or monocytes in the bloodstream; not highly contagious; some believe it can be transmitted by kissing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

glandular fever; infectious mononucleosis; kissing disease; mono; mononucleosis

Hypernyms ("kissing disease" is a kind of...):

infectious disease (a disease transmitted only by a specific kind of contact)

 Context examples 

The virus spreads through saliva, which is why it's sometimes called "kissing disease."

(Infectious Mononucleosis, NIH)

This syndrome, also known as “mono” or the “kissing disease,” generally resolves with rest and only rarely causes serious complications.

(Epstein-Barr virus protein can “switch on” risk genes for autoimmune diseases, National Institutes of Health)