West Nile encephalitis west·ni·leen·cephalitis uncommon noun 1. encephalitis caused by the West Nile virus; can be fatal in humans and horses and birds SynonymsWest Nile encephalitis Related words Word family West Nile encephalitis virus Broader terms encephalitis WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved.