viral

viral — adjective

1. relating to a very small germ that enters the body and causes illness — used for

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to a very small germ that enters the body and causes illness — used for infections and diseases that are produced by a virus rather than by bacteria.

Example

The clinic confirmed Rin's fever was from a viral infection and did not need antibiotics.

collocation: viral infection

Dr. Okafor said the rash was viral, not bacterial, and would heal on its own.

Common collocations
  • viral infection
  • viral disease
  • viral illness
  • viral hepatitis
  • viral pneumonia
  • viral test
Synonyms
  • infectious

    broader term covering both viral and bacterial causes

  • microbial

    scientific term covering all microscopic organisms, not just viruses

Antonyms
  • bacterial

    caused by bacteria, which are treated differently from viruses

Grammar Patterns

viral + noun (attributive)

be + viral (predicative)

Usage Note

Commonly used before nouns such as infection, disease, or illness. Do not use this sense for conditions caused by bacteria or fungi.

Common Mistakes

The doctor prescribed antibiotics for the viral infection.
The doctor explained that antibiotics do not work on viral infections.
Antibiotics treat bacteria, not viruses.

2. describing online content such as videos, images, or articles that spreads extre

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

describing online content such as videos, images, or articles that spreads extremely fast as users share it through social media, messaging apps, or email.

Example

A video of Putri's cat falling asleep in a teacup went viral last weekend.

pattern: go + viral

Faisal shared a funny clip online, and it quickly went viral among his classmates.

Common collocations
  • go viral
  • viral video
  • viral post
  • viral marketing
  • viral campaign
  • viral content
  • viral sensation
Synonyms
  • trending

    appearing on social media trend lists; often narrower than viral

  • popular

    generally liked by many people, but does not imply rapid internet spread

  • widespread

    reaches many people, but can apply to non-internet contexts

Antonyms
  • obscure

    not seen or known by many people

  • ignored

    content that receives little or no attention online

Grammar Patterns

go + viral (predicative)

viral + noun (attributive)

Usage Note

This sense is most often used in the phrase go viral (verb + adjective). When used attributively before a noun (e.g. viral video, viral post), the meaning is 'that has gone viral', not 'virus-related'.

Common Mistakes

The news spread viral among the staff.
The news went viral among the staff.
The correct pattern is 'go viral', not 'spread viral'.

Word family

  • virus
    nounB1
  • virally
    adverbB2
  • antiviral
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/2

Viral, trending, popular, and widespread all describe something many people know about, but they differ in how and how fast the spread happens. Viral (internet sense) specifically describes content that spreads extremely quickly through sharing, like wildfire — a video can go viral overnight. Trending is narrower: it means appearing on a social-media platform's list of most-discussed topics, often for a short window. Popular is the broadest term — something can be popular for decades without ever going viral. Widespread suggests geographic or demographic reach ('widespread support') but says nothing about speed or the sharing mechanism. A cooking post may be popular among food lovers and widespread across cooking forums, but only a truly viral one hits millions of views in hours.

viral ↗trendingpopular ↗widespread ↗

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Viral was formed in English around the 1940s by adding the adjective suffix -al to virus, which comes from Latin virus meaning 'poison' or 'slimy liquid'. The medical sense ('caused by a virus') was the original meaning. The internet sense — describing content that spreads like a virus — emerged in the late 1990s and became widely used with the rise of social media in the 2000s.