English Dictionary |
VIRULENCY
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
Dictionary entry overview: What does virulency mean?
• VIRULENCY (noun)
The noun VIRULENCY has 2 senses:
1. extreme harmfulness (as the capacity of a microorganism to cause disease)
Familiarity information: VIRULENCY used as a noun is rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Extreme harmfulness (as the capacity of a microorganism to cause disease)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
virulence; virulency
Context example:
the virulence of the plague
Hypernyms ("virulency" is a kind of...):
harmfulness; injuriousness (destructiveness that causes harm or injury)
Domain category:
micro-organism; microorganism (any organism of microscopic size)
Derivation:
virulent (extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Extreme hostility
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
virulence; virulency
Context example:
the virulence of the malicious old man
Hypernyms ("virulency" is a kind of...):
hostility; ill will (a hostile (very unfriendly) disposition)
Derivation:
virulent (harsh or corrosive in tone)
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