infetti

Infetti is the plural form of infetto in Italian and can function as a noun or as a past participle used as an adjective. As a noun, infetti refers to individuals who are infected with a disease, for example in medical or epidemiological contexts (gli infetti hanno sviluppato sintomi). The feminine plural is infette, used for infected women or feminine nouns (le persone infette). As an adjective, infetto describes something contaminated by a pathogen, with forms infetto/infetta (singular) and infetti/infette (plural), as in oggetti infetti or zone infette.

Etymology and usage notes: infetto derives from the Latin infectus, meaning tainted or contaminated, through the Italian verb infettare “to infect.” The term is common in medical, public health, and scientific writing, but also appears in literature and media to describe infected characters or contaminated materials. In everyday language, infetti may carry a neutral descriptive sense or a mild stigma depending on context. Synonyms in Italian include contagiati for people who have contracted a disease and contaminati or contaminati biologici for contaminated objects or environments. See also terms related to infection and contagion.