1. past tense and past participle of parasitise; to live on or in another organism as a parasite
Usage: British spelling; American spelling is ‘parasitized’

Examples

• The bird was parasitised by several species of mites.
• Many fish in the lake were parasitised by worms.
• The plant had been parasitised by a fungal infection.
• Scientists studied how the insects were parasitised by bacteria.
• The host organism was severely weakened after being parasitised.
• Researchers found that 30% of the population was parasitised.