contagion
Americannoun
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the communication of disease by direct or indirect contact.
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a disease so communicated.
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the medium by which a contagious disease is transmitted.
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harmful or undesirable contact or influence.
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the ready transmission or spread as of an idea or emotion from person to person.
a contagion of fear.
noun
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the transmission of disease from one person to another by direct or indirect contact
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a contagious disease
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another name for contagium
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a corrupting or harmful influence that tends to spread; pollutant
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the spreading of an emotional or mental state among a number of people
the contagion of mirth
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The transmission of an infectious disease resulting from direct or indirect contact between individuals or animals.
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A disease that is transmitted in this way.
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The agent that causes a contagious disease, such as a bacterium or a virus.
Other Word Forms
- contagioned adjective
- noncontagion noun
Etymology
Origin of contagion
1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin contāgiōn- (stem of contāgiō ) contact, infection, equivalent to con- con- + tāg- (variant stem of tangere to touch) + -iōn- -ion; contact
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As funds are gated, investors have been running to raise liquidity from other funds, creating a contagion effect.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
Ducournau wants to illustrate how fear itself can be a deadly contagion, a reality anyone who lived through those terrible times already knows too well.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
“That’s especially concerning because the full scale of the potential contagion is still unclear, and may only be quantified when it’s already too late to stop it.”
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
Many have their own restive populations to contend with and fear contagion and chaos if the Iranian regime falls.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 28, 2026
Emotional contagion, though, suggests that the opposite is also true.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
