What does "chlamydia" mean?

Any of several common, often asymptomatic, sexually transmitted diseases caused by the microorganism Chlamydia trachomatis.

What is a synonym for "chlamydia"?

Common synonyms include: chlamydiosis, chlamydiosis.

Pronounced //kləˈmɪd.i.ə//.

//kləˈmɪd.i.ə// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Any of several common, often asymptomatic, sexually transmitted diseases caused by the microorganism Chlamydia trachomatis. uncountable
"That makes sense, because we’re all looking for flowery language from our physicians. “Like the sunlight shines upon the hidden grassy meadow, so does chlamydia cast a warm glow upon your private parts.”"
2
coccoid rickettsia infesting birds and mammals; cause infections of eyes and lungs and genitourinary tract wordnet
3
Any of various coccoid microorganisms of the genus Chlamydia that are pathogenic to humans and other animals. countable
4
a sexually transmitted infection caused by bacteria of the genus Chlamydia wordnet

"Infectious diseases are caused by prions, viruses, rickettsia, chlamydia, bacteria, pathogenic fungi and protozoa."

From New Latin chlamydia, from Ancient Greek χλαμύδιον (khlamúdion, “small cloak”), from χλαμύς (khlamús, “cloak”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.