malaria

IPA/məˈleəriə/
KK[məlˈɛriə]IPA/məˈleriə/

malaria — noun

1. A serious illness spread by certain mosquitoes that brings repeated episodes of

1.nounB1
Definition

A serious illness spread by certain mosquitoes that brings repeated episodes of high fever, shaking, and cold sweats, especially affecting people in warm, tropical areas of the world.

Example

Christopher spent two weeks in hospital after contracting malaria during his trip to Ghana.

contract + malaria (formal register for catching a disease)

The village health workers distributed mosquito nets to help prevent the spread of malaria.

prevent the spread of malaria

Common collocations
  • contract malaria
  • suffer from malaria
  • malaria outbreak
  • malaria parasite
  • malaria symptoms
  • malaria treatment
  • malaria prevention
  • a case of malaria
  • mosquito-borne malaria

Grammar Patterns

get / contract / catch + malaria

malaria + verb (spreads, causes, returns)

a case of / an episode of + malaria

Usage Note

Malaria is an uncountable noun — you cannot say 'a malaria'. Use 'a case of malaria' or 'an episode of malaria' when referring to a specific instance. The definite article is not used when speaking about the disease in general.

Common Mistakes

He got a malaria from the mosquito bite.
He got malaria from a mosquito bite.
Malaria is uncountable and does not take the indefinite article 'a'.
She caught the malaria when traveling in Kenya.
She caught malaria when traveling in Kenya.
No definite article is needed for the disease in general.

Word family

  • malarial
    adjectiveC1
  • antimalarial
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three are serious mosquito-borne diseases common in tropical regions, but they differ in symptoms and cause. Malaria is caused by a Plasmodium parasite and produces cyclic fevers with chills and sweating every few days. Dengue fever, caused by a virus, brings high fever, severe headache, joint and muscle pain, and a rash — often called 'breakbone fever' for its intensity. Yellow fever, also viral, can cause jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) and bleeding in severe cases. A doctor might say, 'Your cyclic fever pattern suggests malaria, not dengue,' or 'Yellow fever is rare here because vaccination is routine.'

malaria ↗dengue feveryellow fever

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • endemically
  • seasonally

Phrases

  • the spread of malaria
  • a case of malaria
  • an outbreak of malaria

Prepositions

Etymology

ItalianEnglish

Malaria comes from 18th-century Italian 'mala aria', literally meaning 'bad air'. Before scientists linked the disease to mosquitoes, people in Italy believed the foul air of marshes and swamps caused the fevers. The English word was borrowed directly from this Italian phrase around 1740.