Scientists are fighting to stem the spread of the AIDS virus.
Source: tatoeba (23986)
Virus
/ˈvaɪ.ɹəs/
Synonyms for "virus" (136 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (28)
acaricideadenovirusaerial infectionaerobeaerobic bacteriaaerobic organismairborne infectionamebicamoebaanaerobeanaerobic bacteriaanaerobic organismanthelminticantibioticantisepticautotrophic organismbacillusbacteriabacteriumbane
Show 8 more words
Strong matches (40)
communicabilitycontact poisoncontagioncontagiousnesscontaminationcorruptioncreaturecryptogenic infectiondefoliantdirect infectiondiseasedisease-producing microorganismdisinfectantdroplet infectiondust infectionechovirusenterovirusepidemiologyeradicantfilterable virus
Related words (68)
infectiousnessinsect powderinsecticideliving beingliving thingmicrobemicrobicidemicroorganismmiticidemoldmorphological individualmouldmouldermouldynonfilterable virusontorganic beingorganic chlorineorganic phosphate insecticideorganism
Show 44 more words
organizationpathogenpesticidephysiological individualphytogenic infectionpicornaviruspoisonprimary infectionprotozoaprotozoonpyogenic infectionrat poisonreovirusrhinovirusrickettsiaroach pasteroach powderrodenticidesecondary infectionspirillumspirochetesporestaphylococcusstomach poisonstreptococcussubclinical infectionsystemicsystemic insecticidetainttoxictoxicanttoxicologytoxintrypanosomevectorveninvenomvermicidevibriowaterborne infectionweed killerzoogenic infectionzooidzoon
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: acaricide, adenovirus, aerial infection, aerobe, aerobic bacteria.
- Sentence evidence is available for virus, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, wordnet, opengloss, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "virus".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "virus"
Keep "virus" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "virus" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "virus", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "virus" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
10 entriesagencydelegacyinfectious agentinfective agentmalevolent programmalwaremicro-organismmicroorganismpathogenrepresentation
More specific
6 entriesCollocations
5 entriesDNA virusRNA virusvirus outbreakvirus particlevirus sample
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
4 entriesTranslations
137 translations across 104 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Albanian
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Amharic
1 entries- ቫይረስ noun (infectious organism)
Arabic
4 entries- حُمَة noun (infectious organism)
- فَيْروس noun (infectious organism)
- فَيْرُوس noun (infectious organism)
- فِيرُوس noun (infectious organism)
Armenian
1 entries- վիրուս noun (infectious organism)
Assamese
1 entries- ভাইৰাছ noun (infectious organism)
Asturian
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Basque
1 entries- birus noun (infectious organism)
Belarusian
1 entries- ві́рус noun (infectious organism)
Bengali
1 entries- ভাইরাস noun (infectious organism)
Bulgarian
1 entries- ви́рус noun (infectious organism)
Burmese
2 entries- ဗိုင်းရပ်စ် noun (infectious organism)
- ရောဂါပိုးမွှား noun (infectious organism)
Catalan
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Chinese
1 entries- 病毒 noun (infectious organism)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 病毒 noun (infectious organism)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 病毒 noun (infectious organism)
Cornish
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Czech
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Danish
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Dhivehi
1 entries- ވައިރަސް noun (infectious organism)
Dutch
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Eastern Min Chinese
1 entries- 病毒 noun (infectious organism)
Esperanto
1 entries- viruso noun (infectious organism)
Estonian
1 entries- viirus noun (infectious organism)
Faroese
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Finnish
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
French
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Galician
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Georgian
1 entries- ვირუსი noun (infectious organism)
German
2 entries- Virus noun (infectious organism)
- virus noun (infectious organism)
Greek
1 entries- ιός noun (infectious organism)
Gujarati
1 entries- વિષાણુ noun (infectious organism)
Hakka Chinese
1 entries- 病毒 noun (infectious organism)
Hebrew
2 entries- וִירוּס noun (infectious organism)
- נְגִיף noun (infectious organism)
Hindi
2 entries- वाइरस noun (infectious organism)
- विषाणु noun (infectious organism)
Hungarian
1 entries- vírus noun (infectious organism)
Icelandic
1 entries- veira noun (infectious organism)
Indonesian
2 entries- pathik noun (infectious organism)
- virus noun (infectious organism)
Irish
1 entries- víreas noun (infectious organism)
Italian
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Japanese
4 entries- ウィルス noun (infectious organism)
- ウイルス noun (infectious organism)
- バイラス noun (infectious organism)
- ビールス noun (infectious organism)
Kannada
1 entries- ವೈರಸ್ noun (infectious organism)
Kazakh
1 entries- вирус noun (infectious organism)
Khmer
2 entries- វីរុស noun (infectious organism)
- វីសាណូ noun (infectious organism)
Korean
3 entries- 바이러스 noun (infectious organism)
- 병독 noun (infectious organism)
- 비루스 noun (infectious organism)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- вирус noun (infectious organism)
Ladino
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Lao
2 entries- ເຊື້ອ noun (infectious organism)
- ໄວຣັສ noun (infectious organism)
Latin
1 entries- vīrus noun (infectious organism)
Latvian
1 entries- vīruss noun (infectious organism)
Limburgish
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Lithuanian
1 entries- virusas noun (infectious organism)
Macedonian
1 entries- вирус noun (infectious organism)
Malay
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Malayalam
1 entries- വൈറസ് noun (infectious organism)
Maltese
1 entries- vajrus noun (infectious organism)
Marathi
2 entries- विषाणू noun (infectious organism)
- व्हायरस noun (infectious organism)
Mongolian
2 entries- вирус noun (infectious organism)
- ᠸᠢᠷᠦ᠋ᠰ noun (infectious organism)
Māori
2 entries- huaketo noun (infectious organism)
- wheori noun (infectious organism)
Nepali
2 entries- भाइरस noun (infectious organism)
- विषाणु noun (infectious organism)
Newar
1 entries- विषाणु noun (infectious organism)
North Frisian
1 entries- Wiirus noun (infectious organism)
Northern Kurdish
1 entries- vîrûs noun (infectious organism)
Northwestern Ojibwa
1 entries- zenibaanh-aakoziwin noun (infectious organism)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Occitan
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Odia
1 entries- ଭୂତାଣୁ noun (infectious organism)
Pashto
1 entries- ويروس noun (infectious organism)
Persian
2 entries- ویروس noun (infectious organism)
- ویش noun (infectious organism)
Polish
1 entries- wirus noun (infectious organism)
Portuguese
1 entries- vírus noun (infectious organism)
Punjabi
1 entries- ਵਿਸ਼ਾਣੂ noun (infectious organism)
Quechua
2 entries- añaw noun (infectious organism)
- ch'iñi khuru noun (infectious organism)
Romanian
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Russian
1 entries- ви́рус noun (infectious organism)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- vírus noun (infectious organism)
- ви́рус noun (infectious organism)
Sinhalese
1 entries- වෛරස noun (infectious organism)
Slovak
1 entries- vírus noun (infectious organism)
Slovene
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Spanish
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Swahili
1 entries- virusi noun (infectious organism)
Swedish
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Tagalog
2 entries- birus noun (infectious organism)
- haykap noun (infectious organism)
Tajik
1 entries- вирус noun (infectious organism)
Tamil
1 entries- தீ நுண்மம் noun (infectious organism)
Tatar
1 entries- вирус noun (infectious organism)
Telugu
1 entries- వైరస్ noun (infectious organism)
Thai
2 entries- เชื้อ noun (infectious organism)
- ไวรัส noun (infectious organism)
Tibetan
1 entries- ནད་དུག noun (infectious organism)
Tigrinya
1 entries- ቫይረስ noun (infectious organism)
Turkish
1 entries- virüs noun (infectious organism)
Turkmen
1 entries- wirus noun (infectious organism)
Ukrainian
1 entries- ві́рус noun (infectious organism)
Urdu
2 entries- حُمہ noun (infectious organism)
- وائرس noun (infectious organism)
Uyghur
1 entries- ۋىرۇس noun (infectious organism)
Uzbek
1 entries- virus noun (infectious organism)
Vietnamese
4 entries- siêu vi noun (infectious organism)
- siêu vi khuẩn noun (infectious organism)
- siêu vi trùng noun (infectious organism)
- tinh độc noun (infectious organism)
Volapük
1 entries- virud noun (infectious organism)
Welsh
2 entries- feirws noun (infectious organism)
- firws noun (infectious organism)
West-Frisian
1 entries- firus noun (infectious organism)
Wu Chinese
1 entries- 病毒 noun (infectious organism)
Yiddish
1 entries- ווירוס noun (infectious organism)
Sample sentences
22 total sentences available.
In short, it is because the 'plan.doc' file I attached in the previous email was infected with a virus.
Source: tatoeba (39769)
That looks like the work of a virus.
Source: tatoeba (43214)
The virus cut down many elephants in Africa.
Source: tatoeba (50677)
Showing 4 of 22 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "virus"?
Closest matches include acaricide, adenovirus, aerial infection, aerobe, aerobic bacteria.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "virus"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.