viral

1. not comparablebiologyOf or relating to a biological virus.

   viral DNA

2. not comparablebiologyCaused by a virus.

   viral infection

3. not comparablecomputingOf the nature of an informatic virus; able to spread copies of itself to other computers.
4. not comparableadvertisingSpread by word of mouth with minimal intervention, in order to create buzz and interest.

   “Efficient way to disseminate information? I don't think.” “But it is,” Cayce insists. “The model's viral. ‘Deep niche.’ The venues would be carefully selected—”

   2003, William Gibson, Pattern Recognition (Bigend cycle; book 1), New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, page 85

   1 more example

   Still, the movie [Ralph Breaks the Internet] manages to locate some gentle satire in our culture's love-hate relationship with the internet. At one point, Ralph must attain a certain level of viral popularity, assisted by the BuzzFeed-esque content guru Yesss (Taraji P. Henson), and the movie is savvy about how accidental spikes in fame can turn into cynical algorithm manipulation.

   2018 November 14, Jesse Hassenger, “Disney Goes Viral with an Ambitious, Overstuffed Wreck-It Ralph Sequel”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 21 Nov 2019

5. not comparablesocial mediaCirculated rapidly and widely from one user to another.

   The end game of that is the GoFundMe link posted beneath a viral tweet so they can pay for their health care. Being an influencer sounds fun until it’s ‘keep producing viral content to literally stay alive.’

   2021 March 24, Charlie Warzel, quoting Anil Dash, “What Are You Paying for When You Buy a GIF for $25,000?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   1 more example

   With some minutes to kill, he checks the headlines on his phone. Yet again, something dreadful and new which he doesn't understand is going viral. Today's fad is, you paint a black vertical rectangle on the wall, or on a mirror, or over the top of a picture. And then you chant something.

   2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 135

plural virals

1. businessA video, image or text spread by "word of mouth" on the internet or by e-mail for humorous, political or marketing purposes.

   2003, Dave Chaffey, Total E-Mail Marketing, Elsevier, page 2, [M]ost virals are not seen as profiling and data collection exercises, since that would kill the impulse of forwarding to a friend.

   2 more examples

   2002, Nik Lever, Flash Mx Games: ActionScript for Artists, Focal Press, page 411, Using the Flash ActiveX control in this way allows you as a developer to create desktop characters, email virals and screensavers.

   2005, Russell Evans, Practical DV Filmmaking, Focal Press, page 289, Music company virals are becoming commonplace as costs of promos force labels to reconsider how to target more directly to consumers.