# malaria

/məˈɫɛɹiə/ (US) · /mælˈeəɹiə/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/malaria
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. the disease

noun · CEFR B2

a serious illness that causes a high fever and shaking, spread by mosquitoes in hot countries.

For teachers: a parasitic disease characterised by periodic paroxysms of chills and fever, transmitted via the bite of infected mosquitoes.

- Travelers to certain tropical regions must take medicine to prevent malaria.
- Public health initiatives have focused on distributing insecticide-treated bed nets to reduce the transmission of malaria in endemic regions.

Usage: Usually treated as an uncountable noun when referring to the disease in general.

### 2. bad air

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic

an old belief that bad or smelly air from swamps caused sickness.

For teachers: the historical theory of miasma or 'bad air' arising from marshes, formerly believed to be the cause of fevers.

- Long ago, people thought the malaria from the damp marshes made them ill.
- Before the discovery of parasites, nineteenth-century physicians often attributed seasonal fevers to the noxious malaria emanating from stagnant waters.

Teaching tip: This sense is archaic; modern speakers only use the word to refer to the specific medical condition.

## Examples

- Travelers often take medicine to prevent malaria.
- Public health officials distributed insecticide-treated bed nets to help reduce the local transmission of malaria.
- While malaria was once endemic in many temperate regions, modern eradication efforts have largely restricted the disease to tropical and subtropical climates where the vector can thrive year-round.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.