viral
adjective
vi·ral
| \ ˈvī-rəl
\
\
Definition of viral
1
: of, relating to, or caused by a virus
a viral infection
2
: quickly and widely spread or popularized especially by means of social media
a viral video
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Other Words from viral
virally
\ ˈvī-rə-lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
Examples of viral in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On lung scans, the illnesses look at first like a serious viral or bacterial pneumonia, but tests show no infection. — New York Times, "The Mysterious Vaping Illness That’s ‘Becoming an Epidemic’," 31 Aug. 2019 The video went viral and was viewed more than 800,000 times. — Danny Hermosillo, Houston Chronicle, "Houston-area boy fights big fish in viral video," 28 Aug. 2019 After their deaths, a photo of them lying face down on the riverbank with the girl’s head tucked into her dad’s shirt and her arm draped over his back went viral and sparked intense debate. — Abby Vesoulis, Time, "Border Agents Are Searching for Migrant Boy, 3, Swept Away With His Mom in the Rio Grande," 22 Aug. 2019 The video of her being subdued by police officers on the floor of the restaurant went viral and drew national attention from civil rights advocates. — Lily Jackson | [email protected], al, "Waffle House trial: Jury sworn in, statements begin Wednesday," 20 Aug. 2019 The clip went viral and Davidson was heavily criticized for the joke. — Fox News, "Rep. Crenshaw signed $250G book deal before joining Congress, report shows," 14 Aug. 2019 Now, public-health officials are worried about a surge in bacterial and viral infections linked to opioid misuse that threatens to compound the crisis. — Scientific American, "The U.S. Opioid Epidemic Is Driving a Spike in Infectious Diseases," 9 Aug. 2019 In the age of oversharing, even grieving has gone viral, and social media has turned everyone into a hot-winded eulogist. — Bob Morris, Town & Country, "A (Candid) Guide to Celebrity Death Etiquette," 6 Aug. 2019 Her post went viral and requests to purchase shirts just like Blake’s keep pouring in and Rajhan is doing her best to keep up with demand. — Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, "One Georgia 6-Year-Old is Heading Back to School with a Very Important Message," 5 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'viral.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for viral
viral
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of viral
: caused by a virus
: spreading very quickly to many people especially through the Internet
See the full definition for viral in the English Language Learners Dictionary
viral
adjective
vi·ral
| \ ˈvī-rəl
\
\
Medical Definition of viral
: of, relating to, or caused by a virus
viral infections
Other Words from viral
virally
\ -rə-lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
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