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influenza

[ in-floo-en-zuh ]

noun

  1. Pathology. an acute, commonly epidemic disease, occurring in several forms, caused by numerous rapidly mutating viral strains and characterized by respiratory symptoms and general prostration. Compare flu.
  2. Veterinary Pathology. an acute, contagious disease occurring in horses and swine, characterized by fever, depression, and catarrhal inflammations of the eyes, nasal passages, and bronchi, and caused by a virus.


influenza

/ ˌɪԴڱʊˈɛԳə /

noun

  1. informal.
    a highly contagious and often epidemic viral disease characterized by fever, prostration, muscular aches and pains, and inflammation of the respiratory passages Also calledgrippeflu
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

influenza

/ ĭ′f̅̅-ĕə /

  1. A highly contagious infectious disease that is caused by any of various viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae and is characterized by fever, respiratory symptoms, fatigue, and muscle pain. It commonly occurs in epidemics, one of which killed 20 million people between 1917 and 1919.

influenza

  1. Commonly called the flu; an acute and infectious disease of the respiratory system caused by a virus and characterized by fever, muscle pain, headache, and inflammation of the mucous membranes in the respiratory tract .
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Derived Forms

  • ˌԴڱˈԳ, adjective
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • Э·z adjective
  • Э·z· adjective
  • Dzi·ڱ·z adjective
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of influenza1

1735–45; < Italian < Medieval Latin influentia influence
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of influenza1

C18: from Italian, literally: influence , hence, incursion, epidemic (first applied to influenza in 1743)
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51Թ History

Since ancient times, influenza has periodically swept the world. Until recently, people could not tell how this illness, which we call the flu, could spread so widely. Before people knew that organisms cause disease, they thought the stars influenced the spread of influenza. Influenza comes ultimately from the Latin word influentia, meaning “influence of the stars.” Today, however, the stars are no longer blamed for the flu. Inhaling influenza viruses causes the spread of the illness.
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Compare Meanings

How does influenza compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

And it will be updated at least once a year, to avoid a repeat of the Covid pandemic, where experts had been planning for an entirely different outbreak - influenza.

From

Bird flu, also known as avian influenza or H5N1, is a disease caused by a virus that infects birds and sometimes other animals.

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Children younger than 5 are less likely to have been exposed to seasonal human influenza viruses than school-aged children and adults — potentially making them more susceptible to the harms of a virus such as H5N1.

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Most of the influenza victims — 701 — were over 64 years old, which tracks with the conventional notion that the illness disproportionately affects older people.

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The agency “continues to prioritize the response to highly pathogenic avian influenza,” it told the news agency.

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