Diseasing

/dɪˈziːzɪŋ/ verb

Definition

The act or process of causing disease or making someone sick; becoming diseased.

Etymology

From disease as a verb + -ing (present participle suffix). While 'disease' as a verb is archaic, the gerund form appears in older medical and poetic texts.

Kelly Says

Medieval herbalists believed certain plants worked by 'diseasing' evil humours in the body—poisoning the bad parts while leaving healthy tissue alone, which is oddly how some modern cancer drugs actually work.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.