VIRULENCE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does virulence mean? 

• VIRULENCE (noun)
  The noun VIRULENCE has 2 senses:

1. extreme harmfulness (as the capacity of a microorganism to cause disease)

2. extreme hostility

  Familiarity information: VIRULENCE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VIRULENCE (noun)

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 ("virulence" is a kind of...):

harmfulness; injuriousness (destructiveness that causes harm or injury)

Domain category:

micro-organism; microorganism (any organism of microscopic size)

Derivation:

virulent (infectious; having the ability to cause disease)

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 ("virulence" is a kind of...):

hostility; ill will (a hostile (very unfriendly) disposition)

Derivation:

virulent (harsh or corrosive in tone)

 Context examples 

Two major virulence factors of H. pylori are the vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA) and the cag type-IV secretion system (T4SS) and its translocated effector protein, cytotoxin-associated antigen A (CagA).

(Epithelial Cell Signaling Pathway in Helicobacter pylori Infection, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

H. alvei is found in water, soil and foods, is part of the gastrointestinal flora and is rarely pathogenic owing to the expression of few virulence factors.

(Hafnia alvei, NCI Thesaurus)

NV1020 has shown reduced virulence against normal tissues and a decreased neurovirulence in comparison with some other modified HSV strains.

(NV1020, NCI Thesaurus)

Yet if I was surprised by the virulence of their animosity against the French, I was even more so to hear how highly they rated them as antagonists.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Adenylate cyclase is a virulence factor of Bordetella pertussis.

(Bivalent HPV16/18 Therapeutic Cervical Cancer Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

Gram-negative bacteria secrete a wide range of proteins whose functions include biogenesis of organelles, such as pilli and flagella, nutrient acquisition, virulence, and efflux of drugs and other toxins.

(Bacterial Secretion System Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Any vaccine created by reducing the virulence of the infectious agent but still keeping the agent viable (live).

(Attenuated Live Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

The suddenness and the virulence of the exclamation startled Martin.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

One of the key causes of anthrax virulence is the action of three specific factors produced by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.

(Anthrax Toxin Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Any vaccine created by reducing the virulence of bacteria but still keeping the bacteria viable (live).

(Attenuated Bacteria Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)