Virus vs. Virion — What's the Difference?

A microscopic infectious agent.

Infective form of the virus.

Can exist in various forms.

Complete form of a virus.

Pathogenic in nature.

Contains genetic material and protein coat.

Requires a host for replication.

Extracellular stage of a virus.

A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.

Ready to infect immediately.

Any of various submicroscopic agents that infect living organisms, often causing disease, and that consist of a single or double strand of RNA or DNA surrounded by a protein coat. Unable to replicate without a host cell, viruses are typically not considered living organisms.

A complete viral particle, consisting of RNA or DNA surrounded by a protein shell and constituting the infective form of a virus.

A disease caused by a virus.

(virology) A single individual particle of a virus (the viral equivalent of a cell).

A computer program or series of commands that can replicate itself and that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other files or programs which users later transfer to other computers. Viruses usually have a harmful effect, as in erasing all the data on a disk.

(virology) a complete viral particle; nucleic acid and capsid (and a lipid envelope in some viruses)

A harmful or destructive influence

A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure consisting of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, that requires a living host cell to replicate, and often causes disease in the host organism; such agents are often classed as nonliving infectious particles and less often as microorganisms.

(uncountable) A quantity of such infectious agents

A disease caused by such an infectious agent; a viral illness.

(archaic) Venom, as produced by a poisonous animal etc.

(computing) A type of malware which can covertly transmit itself between computers via networks (especially the Internet) or removable storage such as disks, often causing damage to systems and data; also computer virus.

Any type of malware.

(figurative) Any malicious or dangerous entity that spreads from one place or person to another.

To send or infect an electronic device with a computer virus.

Contagious or poisonous matter, as of specific ulcers, the bite of snakes, etc.; - applied to organic poisons.

The causative agent of a disease, .

Any of numerous submicroscopic complex organic objects which have genetic material and may be considered as living organisms but have no proper cell membrane, and thus cannot by themselves perform metabolic processes, requiring entry into a host cell in order to multiply. The simplest viruses have no lipid envelope and may be considered as complex aggregates of molecules, sometimes only a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and a coat protein. They are sometimes viewed as being on the borderline between living and nonliving objects. They are smaller than living cells in size, usually between 20 and 300 nm; thus they pass through standard filters, and were previously referred to as filterable virus. The manifestations of disease caused by multiplication of viruses in cells may be due to destruction of the cells caused by subversion of the cellular metabolic processes by the virus, or by synthesis of a virus-specific toxin. Viruses may infect animals, plants, or microorganisms; those infecting bacteria are also called bacteriophages. Certain bacteriophages may be non-destructive and benign in the host; - see bacteriophage.

Fig.: Any morbid corrupting quality in intellectual or moral conditions; something that poisons the mind or the soul; as, the virus of obscene books.

A program or segment of program code that may make copies of itself (replicate), attach itself to other programs, and perform unwanted actions within a computer; also called computer virus or virus program. Such programs are almost always introduced into a computer without the knowledge or assent of its owner, and are often malicious, causing destructive actions such as erasing data on disk, but sometime only annoying, causing peculiar objects to appear on the display. The form of sociopathic mental disease that causes a programmer to write such a program has not yet been given a name. Compare trojan horse{3}.

(virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein

A harmful or corrupting agency;

A software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer;

Lacks cellular structure.

A virion is the complete, infective form of a virus outside a host cell.

Yes, a virion is designed to be immediately infectious upon encountering a host.

A virus is a microscopic infectious agent that requires a host cell to replicate.

Some viruses can survive for a period, but they require a host to replicate.

A virion contains genetic material (RNA or DNA) and a protein coat.

Virions attach to specific receptors on the host cell to initiate infection.

No, virions lack cellular structure like organelles.

Not all viruses cause disease; some are benign or even beneficial.

No, viruses lack the machinery for metabolic processes.

No, viruses are generally too small to be seen without an electron microscope.

Viruses can be transmitted through air, fluids, or direct contact, depending on the type.

Viruses can infect a variety of organisms, from animals and plants to microorganisms.

Viruses are much smaller and require a host for replication, while bacteria are single-celled organisms.

Yes, the genetic material in virions can mutate, sometimes leading to new strains.

Viruses are studied using cell cultures, animal models, and computational methods.