virus

noun

1. (virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein

Definition categories: animal, microorganism

2. a harmful or corrupting agency

- bigotry is a virus that must not be allowed to spread

- the virus of jealousy is latent in everyone

Definition categories: state, agency, delegacy, representation

3. a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer

- a true virus cannot spread to another computer without human assistance

Definition categories: communication