infective

adjective

in·​fec·​tive in-ˈfek-tiv 

: infectious:

a

: producing or capable of producing or transmitting infection

… infective oocysts are ingested with contaminated feed or water.

—Douglas N. Stern

Affected cats not yet showing signs of illness may shed the virus and be infective to other cats …

—Cat Fancy

b

: caused by or resulting from an infection with one or more pathogenic agents

infective bacterial endocarditis

c

: affecting others : spreading easily to others

Different teachers will demonstrate different skills and strengths. Some will have … an infective enthusiasm for their own subject.

—Jonathan Glazzard et al.

Examples of infective in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On July 30, Ray updated her fans again, revealing her diagnosis of infective endocarditis, a severe heart infection. —Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 31 July 2024

Hospitalizations for strokes related to opioid use and infective endocarditis, a life-threatening infection of the heart’s lining and valves, increased in people under 45 from 2006 through 2015, coinciding with the opioid epidemic’s onset, the authors added. —Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 23 May 2024

Handling of the raw fish can also deliver the infective larva to the intestinal system. —Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 27 Sep. 2011

People typically get malaria by being bitten by an infective female Anopheles mosquito. —Sara Moniuszko, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English infectif "causing disease, infectious," borrowed from Medieval Latin infectīvus "infectious, poisonous" (Latin, "used for dyeing"), from Latin infectus, past participle of inficere "to dye, discolor, taint, contaminate with disease" + -īvus -ive — more at infect

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing infective

• anti-infective

Kids Definition

infective

adjective

in·​fec·​tive in-ˈfek-tiv 

: producing or able to produce infection

infectivity

(ˌ)in-ˌfek-ˈtiv-ət-ē 

noun

Medical Definition

infective

adjective

in·​fec·​tive in-ˈfek-tiv 

: infectious:

a

: producing or capable of producing or transmitting infection

… infective oocysts are ingested with contaminated feed or water.

—Douglas N. Stern

… a strain of bacteria which forms spores that can remain infective for as long as fifty years.

—Sue Hubbell

Affected cats not yet showing signs of illness may shed the virus and be infective to other cats …

—Cat Fancy

b

: caused by or resulting from an infection with one or more pathogenic agents

infective bacterial endocarditis