Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun virus

3 senses of virus

Sense 1
virus -- ((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)
       => microorganism, micro-organism -- (any organism of microscopic size)
       => infectious agent, infective agent -- (an agent capable of producing infection)

Sense 2
virus -- (a harmful or corrupting agency; "bigotry is a virus that must not be allowed to spread"; "the virus of jealousy is latent in everyone")
       => representation, delegacy, agency -- (the state of serving as an official and authorized delegate or agent)

Sense 3
virus, computer virus -- (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")
       => malevolent program -- (a computer program designed to have undesirable or harmful effects)