Definition of "chickenpox" [chickenpox]

• An acute contagious disease, primarily of children, that is caused by the varicella-zoster virus and characterized by skin eruptions, slight fever, and malaise. Also called varicella. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Unlike many vaccine-preventable diseases, chickenpox is one that most parents know about."
• "However, I think calling people idiots for not vaccinating against chickenpox is a bit ridiculous."
• "My son didn’t have chickenpox, he had a rash, but the fear of chickenpox is so strongly ingrained in some people that they freak out if they see the slightest sign of spots in a child."