infection
infection — 名詞
1. a state in which harmful germs, bacteria, or viruses get into your body and star
感染
細菌或病毒侵入身體所造成的疾病狀態
a state in which harmful germs, bacteria, or viruses get into your body and start to multiply, which can make you feel unwell or cause a disease.
Joaquín stayed home from school after the doctor said his ear infection needed rest and medicine.
醫生說梅軒的耳朵感染需要休息和吃藥，因此他請假沒去上學。
ear / throat / wound infection
The nurse told Meera to keep the cut clean so that no infection would appear.
護士告訴米拉要保持傷口清潔，這樣才不會出現感染。
Tariq finished the full course of antibiotics to make sure the infection in his throat was completely gone.
Tariq 把整療程的抗生素吃完，以確保喉嚨的感染完全消除。
Poor hygiene during the rainy season led to a serious infection spreading through the village.
雨季期間衛生條件差，導致嚴重的感染在村裡蔓延開來。
The hospital reported that the infection rate among patients dropped after the new cleaning rules were introduced.
醫院報告指出，實施新的清潔規範後，病患的感染率下降了。
- immunity
the body's ability to resist or fight off infection
文法句型
an infection (countable)
infection (uncountable)
用法筆記
Countable when referring to a specific instance in a part of the body ('an ear infection', 'a wound infection'). Uncountable when speaking generally about the condition ('the risk of infection', 'infection can spread').
常見錯誤
2. the situation in which harmful software such as a virus or other malware invades
中毒；入侵
惡意程式侵入電腦或網路
the situation in which harmful software such as a virus or other malware invades a computer system, network, or file, causing damage, stealing data, or disrupting the normal way the system works.
Once the virus reached the company server, the infection wiped out thousands of important files.
病毒一進到公司的伺服器，這次的入侵就摧毀了數千份重要檔案。
the infection + destructive effect
Jisoo installed security software to protect her laptop from any malware infection.
Jisoo 安裝了安全軟體來保護她的筆電免受任何惡意軟體感染。
malware infection
The IT team spent the whole weekend cleaning up a software infection that had spread through the office network.
資訊團隊花了整個週末清除一個已經蔓延到公司網路的軟體病毒。
An email attachment from an unknown sender can be the starting point of a computer infection.
來自不明寄件者的電子郵件附件，可能是電腦感染的開端。
The bank's security system detected the infection early, so no customer data was stolen.
銀行的安全系統及早偵測到入侵，因此沒有任何客戶資料被竊取。
文法句型
an infection (countable, a specific attack)
infection (uncountable, the general phenomenon)
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 by context: this sense uses nouns such as 'virus', 'malware', 'computer', 'software', 'network', 'data'. Common in technology news and IT workplace language.
常見錯誤
3. the process by which a feeling, mood, or attitude spreads from one person to oth
渲染；傳染
情緒或態度在人群之間傳遞蔓延
the process by which a feeling, mood, or attitude spreads from one person to others in a group, so that everyone begins to feel or act in a similar way, as if the emotion were a disease moving through people.
A strange nervous infection seemed to pass through the crowd as they waited for the exam results to be announced.
群眾在等待考試成績公布時，一種奇異的緊張氣氛似乎在人群當中蔓延開來。
The speaker's excitement was an infection that soon had the whole audience cheering and laughing together.
講者的興奮情緒像傳染病一樣，很快就讓全場觀眾一起歡呼大笑。
the infection of [emotion]
Baraka watched the panic spread through the camp like a quiet infection, moving from one worried face to another.
Baraka 看著恐慌像無聲的渲染般在營地蔓延，從一張憂慮的臉上傳到另一張臉上。
Owen felt the infection of the team's confidence take hold of him as they walked onto the field.
Owen 走進球場時，感受到團隊自信的感染力抓住了他。
Élise wrote about the infection of fear that swept through the town after the unexplained disappearances.
Élise 寫道，恐懼的渲染在連串離奇的失蹤事件後席捲了整個小鎮。
- contagion
near synonym; 'emotional contagion' is a formal term used in psychology
- spread
neutral and general; lacks the implied force of 'infection'
- transmission
more technical; often used for ideas or cultural traits
文法句型
the infection of + emotion/attitude
用法筆記
Almost always followed by 'of' plus an emotion or attitude. The emotion can be positive ('the infection of joy') or negative ('the infection of fear'). This sense is found more in written, literary, or formal contexts than in everyday conversation.
常見錯誤
4. the act or process of damaging someone's moral character or sense of right and w
腐化；敗壞
道德品格受不良影響而變質
the act or process of damaging someone's moral character or sense of right and wrong, as if a bad influence were slowly poisoning their values and principles.
The old storyteller warned young Ilan to stay away from the gambling halls, calling them an infection of the spirit.
老故事人告誡年輕的 Ilan 遠離賭場，稱那些地方是靈魂的腐化。
an infection of the spirit / soul / mind
Many parents feared that certain violent shows would become an infection of their children's values.
許多家長擔心某些暴力節目會敗壞孩子的價值觀。
an infection of [values / character]
Lauren saw dishonesty as a slow infection of the soul that would eventually destroy any real friendship.
Lauren 認為說謊是一種緩慢侵蝕靈魂的腐化，終將摧毀任何真誠的友誼。
The writer's essay described the infection of greed that had taken over the city's political leaders.
那位作家的文章描述了貪婪的腐化如何席捲了城市的政治領袖。
- corruption
more common and direct; 'moral corruption' is standard in most contexts
- contamination
suggests a pure thing becoming impure; less common for morals than for physical things
- degradation
suggests a lowering of quality or status over time
- purity
moral cleanliness or integrity
文法句型
an infection of + moral quality
the infection of + [society/mind/soul]
用法筆記
Always metaphorical; do not use for literal physical contamination. Typically appears with 'a' or 'the' followed by 'of' plus an abstract noun describing the corrupted quality. Found almost exclusively in literary, religious, or philosophical writing.