viral
part of speech
adjective (viral)
meaning for a pupil
1) Viral means caused by a virus: «a viral infection». tree →
2) If something online goes viral, it spreads very fast as huge numbers of people share it. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and health lessons, viral illnesses such as colds and flu are caused by viruses; antibiotics do not work on them, while washing hands and vaccines help stop them spreading. In media and online safety lessons, «going viral» means a video, picture or post spreads to millions of people — which shows why you should think before posting, because you can't take it back, and why viral stories may be fake. Phrases: «go viral», «a viral video», «viral infection».
examples
- He has a viral infection, not a bacterial one. tree →
- Antibiotics don't cure viral illnesses. tree →
- The cat video went viral. tree →
- A viral post can spread to millions in a day. tree →
- Check the facts before sharing a viral story. tree →
- Flu is a viral disease. tree →
- Once something goes viral, you can't delete it from everywhere. tree →
note
From «virus» (plural viruses). Trap: antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses. «Viral» online does not mean true — viral rumours and fake news spread fast.
In the corpora
- Many viral pictures are fake or edited, so check who posted them first before sharing.
- Giving to known charities, with a grown-up, is safer than giving to a viral plea from a stranger.
- Falling is part of learning to dance, and many viral videos took the dancer dozens of tries.
- Viral dances are made by real people, often young creators, and naming them when you copy their dance is fair.
- Such viral scares are usually hoaxes.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «viral» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.