Vocabulary     

What does influenza mean?

Definitions for influenza
ˌɪn fluˈɛn zəin·fluen·za

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word influenza.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. influenza, flu, grippenoun

    an acute febrile highly contagious viral disease

GCIDE

  1. Influenzanoun

    An epidemic viral infectious disease characterized by acute nasal catarrh, or by inflammation of the throat or the bronchi, and usually accompanied by fever and general weakness; also called grippe. It is caused by several forms of RNA virus which mutate readily and thereby render vaccines prepared against older forms ineffective, often requiring a new form of vaccine for each new outbreak.

Wiktionary

  1. influenzanoun

    An acute contagious disease of the upper airways and lungs, caused by a virus, which rapidly spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics.

  2. Etymology: From influenza, from influentia.

Wikipedia

  1. Influenza

    Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms begin from one to four days after exposure to the virus (typically two days) and last for about 2–8 days. Diarrhea and vomiting can occur, particularly in children. Influenza may progress to pneumonia, which can be caused by the virus or by a subsequent bacterial infection. Other complications of infection include acute respiratory distress syndrome, meningitis, encephalitis, and worsening of pre-existing health problems such as asthma and cardiovascular disease. There are four types of influenza virus, termed influenza viruses A, B, C, and D. Aquatic birds are the primary source of Influenza A virus (IAV), which is also widespread in various mammals, including humans and pigs. Influenza B virus (IBV) and Influenza C virus (ICV) primarily infect humans, and Influenza D virus (IDV) is found in cattle and pigs. IAV and IBV circulate in humans and cause seasonal epidemics, and ICV causes a mild infection, primarily in children. IDV can infect humans but is not known to cause illness. In humans, influenza viruses are primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets produced from coughing and sneezing. Transmission through aerosols and intermediate objects and surfaces contaminated by the virus also occur. Frequent hand washing and covering one's mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing reduce transmission. Annual vaccination can help to provide protection against influenza. Influenza viruses, particularly IAV, evolve quickly, so flu vaccines are updated regularly to match which influenza strains are in circulation. Vaccines currently in use provide protection against IAV subtypes H1N1 and H3N2 and one or two IBV subtypes. Influenza infection is diagnosed with laboratory methods such as antibody or antigen tests and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify viral nucleic acid. The disease can be treated with supportive measures and, in severe cases, with antiviral drugs such as oseltamivir. In healthy individuals, influenza is typically self-limiting and rarely fatal, but it can be deadly in high-risk groups. In a typical year, 5–15% of the population contracts influenza. There are 3–5 million severe cases annually, with up to 650,000 respiratory-related deaths globally each year. Deaths most commonly occur in high-risk groups, including young children, the elderly, and people with chronic health conditions. In temperate regions of the world, the number of influenza cases peaks during winter, whereas in the tropics influenza can occur year-round. Since the late 1800s, large outbreaks of novel influenza strains that spread globally, called pandemics, have occurred every 10–50 years. Five flu pandemics have occurred since 1900: the Spanish flu in 1918–1920, which was the most severe flu pandemic, the Asian flu in 1957, the Hong Kong flu in 1968, the Russian flu in 1977, and the swine flu pandemic in 2009.

ChatGPT

  1. influenza

    Influenza, also known as the flu, is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory system that affects the throat, lungs and nose. It is caused by the influenza virus and is typically spread via droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or by touching surfaces contaminated by the virus. Symptoms often include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, fatigue, and chills. There are different strains of the influenza virus, with Influenza A and B causing the majority of human cases. Vaccinations are available as a preventative measure.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Influenzanoun

    an epidemic affection characterized by acute nasal catarrh, or by inflammation of the throat or the bronchi, and usually accompanied by fever

  2. Etymology: [It. influenza influence, an epidemic formerly attributed by astrologers to the influence of the heavenly bodies, influenza. See Influence.]

Wikidata

  1. Influenza

    Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae, the influenza viruses. The most common symptoms are chills, fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pains, headache, coughing, weakness/fatigue and general discomfort. Although it is often confused with other influenza-like illnesses, especially the common cold, influenza is a more severe disease caused by a different type of virus. Influenza may produce nausea and vomiting, particularly in children, but these symptoms are more common in the unrelated gastroenteritis, which is sometimes inaccurately referred to as "stomach flu" or "24-hour flu". Flu can occasionally lead to pneumonia, either direct viral pneumonia or secondary bacterial pneumonia, even for persons who are usually very healthy. In particular it is a warning sign if a child seems to be getting better and then relapses with a high fever as this relapse may be bacterial pneumonia. Another warning sign is if the person starts to have trouble breathing. Typically, influenza is transmitted through the air by coughs or sneezes, creating aerosols containing the virus. Influenza can also be transmitted by direct contact with bird droppings or nasal secretions, or through contact with contaminated surfaces. Airborne aerosols have been thought to cause most infections, although which means of transmission is most important is not absolutely clear. Influenza viruses can be inactivated by sunlight, disinfectants and detergents. As the virus can be inactivated by soap, frequent hand washing reduces the risk of infection.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Influenza

    in-flōō-en′za, n. a severe epidemic catarrh, accompanied with weakening fever. [It.,—L., a by-form of influence.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Influenza

    an epidemic disease, closely resembles, but is quite distinct from, cold in the head. It is characterised by early and marked debility and depression; though usually of short duration, attacks must not be disregarded; fatal results often ensue on carelessness. Convalescence is slow, and complications may ensue. The cause of the malady is obscure; sporadic cases always occur, but from time to time great epidemics of this disease have travelled westward over the world. Their movement seems to depend on atmospheric conditions, but is independent of the season of the year and often contrary to the direction of the wind. Visitations occurred in Britain in 1837-38, 1847-48, and 1889-91.

Matched Categories

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce influenza?

How to say influenza in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of influenza in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of influenza in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of influenza in a Sentence

  1. Jonathan Temte:

    That means that about 1 out of every 4 people in the U.S. that died that week died of influenza or pneumonia or COVID-19, ive never seen it look that bad.

  2. Louise Rollins-Smith:

    The peptide described in the Immunity report is somewhat unusual because of the apparent specificity, if further studies show that it has a low level of cytotoxicity and it can protect in other animal models of influenza, it could be developed as a potential treatment for influenza.

  3. Van Kerkhove:

    It could complicate the clinical picture, but there are tools that are in place for influenza, so it is really, really important than when the vaccine becomes available for flu, that people do take that vaccine.

  4. Anthony Fauci:

    Influenza is really a unique virus, so different from diseases like measles and polio that stay essentially stable, and you just got to vaccinate once or get infected, and essentially, you're good for life. That's not the case with flu. It's very complicated with flu.

  5. Christina Johns:

    We are starting to see a slow and steady trickle of an increase of cases. And why is that ? Well, because this is the time of year when we typically start to see influenza begin to circulate, but why aren't we seeing the explosive uptick ? One reason is that school-aged children are still largely masked in many school districts, and so I think that that helps to keep numbers down. The overall layered protective measures that are still in place in many areas are effective for both Covid as well as influenza.

more sentences »

Popularity rank by frequency of use

influenza#10000#12196#100000

References

Translations for influenza

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for influenza »

Translation

Find a translation for the influenza definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:

Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"influenza." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 6 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/influenza>.

Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

Discuss these influenza definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for influenza? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    influenza

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    having a build with little fat or muscle but with long limbs
    A extroversive
    B eloquent
    C eminent
    D ectomorphic

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for influenza: