Thesaurus Dictionary
Synonyms and antonyms of Specific diseases in British Thesaurus
Specific diseases
AIDS (noun)
acquired immune deficiency syndrome: a serious disease that destroys the body’s immune system (=its ability to defend itself against infection) and usually causes death. AIDS is passed from one person to another through body fluids (=liquids), especially blood and semen. People first become HIV-positive and then develop full-blown AIDS
amoebic dysentery (noun)
a serious disease caused by an amoeba that affects your bowels and makes you go to the toilet very frequently and become very weak
bilharzia (noun)
a serious disease in which the blood becomes infected with a type of small worm. It is common in Africa, Asia, and South America.
bird flu (noun)
a type of flu (=an infectious disease that makes you hot and cold, tired and weak) that affects chickens and some other birds and animals and can also infect humans
the Black Death (noun)
a disease that killed millions of people in Europe and Asia in the 14th century. Its medical name is bubonic plague.
bubonic plague (noun)
a serious infectious disease that killed millions of people in Europe and Asia in the past but is now fairly rare. It is passed on by the fleas that live on black rats.
chickenpox (noun)
an infectious disease that most children get once, in which the skin is covered with red spots. Chickenpox is a more serious disease in adults.
chlamydia (noun)
a disease passed on during sex that can damage your reproductive system
cholera (noun)
a serious disease affecting your stomach and intestines (=the long tube that carries waste out of your body) that often causes death. It is caused by drinking water or eating food infected with bacteria.
chronic fatigue syndrome (noun)
an illness that makes you feel tired and weak all the time. It sometimes follows an infection by a virus.
CJD (noun)
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: a serious disease that gradually destroys your brain cells and causes death. Some types may be caused by eating meat from cows that have the disease BSE.
the clap (noun)
informal old-fashioned a sexually transmitted disease, especially gonorrhoea
consumption (noun)
an old word for the lung disease ‘tuberculosis’
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (noun)
the disease CJD
Crohn’s disease (noun)
a disease affecting the lower part of the intestines (=tubes in the stomach that process food and carry waste out of the body)
cytomegalovirus (noun)
a virus that usually causes minor infections but can cause serious infections in people with AIDS and very young babies
dysentery (noun)
a serious disease that affects your bowels and makes you go to the toilet very frequently and become very weak
Epstein-Barr virus (noun)
an infectious virus that makes you feel very tired and weak. Epstein-Barr virus is also called EBV.
German measles (noun)
British an infectious disease that causes red spots on the skin. German measles is a minor illness in children and adults, but can cause serious physical damage to babies before they are born. A more technical name for this is rubella.
giardiasis (noun)
informal a disease affecting your intestine, caused by drinking infected water
goitre (noun)
a disease that affects your thyroid gland and makes your neck swollen
gout (noun)
a painful disease that makes the joints in your toes swell
hepatitis (noun)
an infectious disease of the liver that can be very serious
herpes (noun)
a disease caused by a virus that can make sore red spots appear on someone’s sex organs or near their mouth
HIV (noun)
human immunodeficiency virus: a virus that can cause AIDS and is usually passed to someone else by having sex
impetigo (noun)
an infectious disease affecting your skin
legionnaire’s disease (noun)
a serious disease of the lungs that leads to severe pneumonia and is usually spread through air conditioning systems
lupus (noun)
a disease that affects your immune system and your skin or other parts of your body
Lyme disease (noun)
a serious disease caused by insects called ticks that can affect your nervous system and heart
mad cow disease (noun)
informal BSE
measles (noun)
an infectious disease common in children in which there are red spots all over the body and a high temperature
mononucleosis (noun)
new variant CJD (noun)
a form of the illness CJD that makes people ill very quickly
NSU (noun)
nonspecific urethritis: a disease that is spread by having a sexual relationship with someone who is infected
polio (noun)
a serious infectious disease that mostly affects children. It destroys muscle and can cause paralysis (=lack of movement in your arms and legs). Polio is a short form of the more technical word poliomyelitis.
rickets (noun)
a disease that mainly affects children in which their bones become soft and bend. It is caused by a lack of vitamin D in the food that they eat or by too little exposure to sunlight.
rubella (noun)
an infectious disease that causes red spots on your skin. Rubella is a minor illness in children and adults, but can cause serious physical damage to babies before they are born. A less technical name for this is German measles.
scabies (noun)
a disease in which your skin becomes very itchy (=you want to rub it with your nails)
scrofula (noun)
a disease in which the lymph nodes in a person’s neck swell up
shingles (noun)
an infectious disease that affects mainly adults, in which red sore spots cover a particular part of the body
swine flu (noun)
a disease similar to flu that spreads quickly from one person to another and causes problems such as a sore throat and cough, thought to be related to a virus which infects pigs
TB (noun)
tuberculosis: a serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs
thrush (noun)
an infectious disease in which a white substance is produced inside a woman’s vagina
tuberculosis (noun)
a serious infectious disease affecting your lungs
variant CJD (noun)
variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: a form of CJD (=brain disease) that has recently been recognized and that mainly affects younger people
venereal disease (noun)
Weil’s disease (noun)
a disease affecting animals and sometimes humans, caused by bacteria that are passed through the urine of an infected animal
whooping cough (noun)
an infectious disease of children that causes them to cough and make a loud noise when they breathe