virulent

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But time travel is an imperfect science, and the technician overseeing the process is delirious from a virulent new strain of flu, so Kivrin is accidentally dropped into 1348, the year of the Black Death.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

"This is a particularly virulent strain of influenza and there are lots of children experiencing very high temperatures and they are experiencing the flu for much longer than we would expect."

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

"The bumpier, irregular surface of the virulent strains exposes parts of the virus that are normally hidden, allowing certain antibodies to attach more easily," Dr. Bibby said.

From Science Daily • Nov. 27, 2025

Viruses can mutate to escape from antibodies, but the mRNA vaccines are not causing the emergence of more virulent strains, likely for at least two reasons.

From Salon • Sep. 5, 2025

The harmless bacteria had somehow “transformed” into the virulent form.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee