virulence

From Middle French virulence, from Late Latin virulentia.

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɪɹjələns/, /ˈvɪɹələns/

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virulence (countable and uncountable, plural virulences)

1. The state of being virulent.

   Most strains of this virus have no virulence.

   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 61:

     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.

2. The degree of how virulent a thing is.

   This strain has higher virulence than most others.

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virulence f (plural virulences)

1. virulence

• “virulence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012