virulence
noun/ˈvɪɹjələns/ · /ˈvɪɹələns/
Etymology From Middle French virulence, from Late Latin virulentia.
1
The state of being virulent.
- Most strains of this virus have no virulence.
- Francis was enraged at the interference, and opposition made him more in earnest; but just at this time, the civil war, which had hitherto left their part of the country comparatively quiet, arose with great virulence in their immediate vicinity.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 61:
2
The degree of how virulent a thing is.
- This strain has higher virulence than most others.
- Derived terms
- antivirulence, avirulence, cardiovirulence, hypervirulence, hypovirulence, neurovirulence, nonvirulence, urovirulence
- Related terms
- virality, pestilence