Word
herpes
Phoneticsher·pes
US/ˈhɝpiz/
UK/hˈɜːpiːz/
Definition
n. a common infection caused by a virus that can lead to small, painful blisters on the skin. It often stays in the body for a long time and can come back later.
n. a viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus, characterized by the eruption of small blisters on the skin or mucous membranes. Often used in a medical context to refer to either the oral or genital manifestation of the disease.
Examples
“The doctor explained that herpes is a very common viral infection.”
“Many people carry the virus that causes herpes without ever showing any physical symptoms or blisters.”
“Clinical management of herpes typically involves antiviral medications that suppress the virus and reduce the frequency of symptomatic outbreaks, although they do not provide a permanent cure.”
Examples
simple
“The doctor explained that herpes is a very common viral infection.”
contextual
“Many people carry the virus that causes herpes without ever showing any physical symptoms or blisters.”
complex
“Clinical management of herpes typically involves antiviral medications that suppress the virus and reduce the frequency of symptomatic outbreaks, although they do not provide a permanent cure.”
Usage
Typically used as an uncountable noun when referring to the disease or the virus itself.
Real-World Examples
“Researchers also found that Myotis bats possess an unusually large number of genes that produce proteins interacting with DNA viruses, such as herpes viruses, which carry their genetic information in DNA.” “COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses hiding in the body, including Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus, and several herpes viruses.” Etymology
From Latin herpēs, from Ancient Greek ἕρπης (hérpēs, “herpes”, literally “a creeping”), from ἕρπειν (hérpein, “to creep”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/herpes