virulence means the state of being virulent. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 78 out of 100.
virulence is pronounced /ˈvɪɹjələns/.
Why “virulence” is a great word
VIRULENCE — [Noun] The quality or degree of being extremely poisonous, infectious, or harmful, especially in the context of disease. From Middle French virulence, from Late Latin virulentia ("poisonous quality"), from Latin virulentus ("poisonous"). First attested in English c. 1660s. Unlike "pathogenicity," which denotes the mere capacity to cause disease, or "toxicity," which broadly describes chemical harm, virulence measures the specific, searing intensity of the harm itself. It is the exponential replication in a host's bloodstream, the strategic speed with which a cough fills a ward, and the silent efficiency of a microbe dismantling a cell—a precise calculus of suffering wrought by life upon life.
Etymology
From Middle French virulence, from Late Latin virulentia.
noun
- The state of being virulent.“Most strains of this virus have no virulence.”
- The degree of how virulent a thing is.“This strain has higher virulence than most others.”