How to Use virulence in a Sentence

virulence

noun
Definition of virulencenext
Synonyms for virulencenext
  • I was surprised by the virulence of the criticism.
  • In this story, the South was a place apart, different from the rest of the country in the virulence of its white supremacy.
    — Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2018
  • Danger lurks everywhere, from the virulence of the delta variant to the fires and floods of climate change.
    — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 28 Sep. 2021
  • The trend that will begin to tell the story of omicron’s virulence is a ratio.
    — al, 24 Dec. 2021
  • The trend that will begin to tell the story of Omicron’s virulence is a ratio.
    — Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2021
  • Spain saw fires that showed the virulence of a summer outbreak break out as early as March.
    — Joseph Wilson, ajc, 25 June 2023
  • Burgers said this change in virulence likely has to do with how the virus’s anatomy changed.
    — Fortune, 4 Jan. 2022
  • Screaming, spitting virulence swarmed the man dressed in neo-Nazi garb.
    — Joseph Goodman, AL.com, 22 Oct. 2017
  • That would start everything all over again: a new strain, with new virulence.
    — Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 28 Mar. 2019
  • The number of people who get the flu shot, for example, doesn’t change much from year to year, even as flu strains vary in their virulence.
    — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 22 Mar. 2021
  • The coronavirus is held in chains, immovable and shorn of its virulence.
    — Tulasi Srinivas, The Conversation, 15 June 2020
  • These strains arise when the weakened live virus used in the oral polio vaccine (OPV) mutates and regains its virulence.
    — Leslie Roberts, Science | AAAS, 10 July 2019
  • The type 2 viruses in live polio vaccine were the most likely to regain virulence.
    — Helen Branswell, STAT, 23 Feb. 2022
  • That could be any of the Big Three, but consider two examples: a juice-up in immune evasion, or a surge in virulence.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2022
  • In nearby Salyersville, the virulence of the delta variant has shaken some holdouts.
    — Sarah Varney, The Courier-Journal, 22 Oct. 2021
  • In the future, this new resistant line can serve as a diagnostic test to assess the virulence of any new Xoo strains that crop up.
    — Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2019
  • Avian virulence and thermostable replication of the North American strain of West Nile virus.
    — Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2013
  • But the real target and virulence of their bill is the set of financial measures aimed squarely at Russia.
    — chicagotribune.com, 28 July 2017
  • The virulence of any pathogen depends not just on its own qualities but on the preparedness of the human immune system.
    — Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2022
  • The scale and virulence of that scheme began to take shape at the opening House hearing investigating 1/6.
    — Eric Tucker, BostonGlobe.com, 10 June 2022
  • Any small decrease in virulence likely will be offset by the large increase in caseload that's predicted, LaBaer said.
    — Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 7 Jan. 2022
  • That’s in part because there are so many strains, and the virus is prone to mutations that change its virulence and transmissibility.
    — Maggie Fox, NBC News, 19 Jan. 2018
  • Mariamman, on the other hand, carries a scimitar with which to smite and decapitate the demons of virulence and illness.
    — Tulasi Srinivas, The Conversation, 15 June 2020
  • The rest of the matter is a combination of the virus’s virulence, and the availability of vaccines and therapeutics.
    — Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 14 Mar. 2022
  • For instance, a strain that spreads more easily often loses some of its virulence.
    — Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2021
  • But what appears to be greater virulence may be simply the result of the Delta variant’s greater contagiousness, some experts say.
    — New York Times, 3 Aug. 2021
  • If Omicron is twice as transmissible as Delta, even a 50% reduction in virulence will be a wash.
    — Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2021
  • Because of its virulence, that could overwhelm hospitals and has prompted widespread calls for people to stay home.
    — Charles Ornstein, ProPublica, 19 Mar. 2020
  • Last month, the Bank of England, stung by the virulence of inflation, unexpectedly raised interest rates by half a percent, to 5 percent.
    — Mark Landler, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2023
  • There are few precedents in American history for someone with the public renown of Elon Musk voicing or hosting opinions of such unalloyed virulence.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'virulence.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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