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communicable

[ kuh-myoo-ni-kuh-buh l ]
/ kəˈmyu nɪ kə bəl /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR communicable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

capable of being easily communicated or transmitted: communicable information; a communicable disease.
talkative; communicative.

RELATED WORDS

disease, epidemic, virus, bug, pollution, flu, impurity, contagion, poison, corruption, defilement, germs, contagiousness, insanitation, septicity

Nearby words

  1. communally,
  2. communard,
  3. communautaire,
  4. commune,
  5. commune of paris,
  6. communicable disease,
  7. communicable disease center,
  8. communicant,
  9. communicate,
  10. communicating

Origin of communicable

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin commūnicābilis, equivalent to commūnicā(re) (see communicate) + -bilis -ble
Related formscom·mu·ni·ca·bil·i·ty, com·mu·ni·ca·ble·ness, nouncom·mu·ni·ca·bly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for communicability

  • The presence of false membranes in one form of mammitis in cows does not necessarily imply its communicability to man.

    Special Report on Diseases of Cattle|U.S. Department of Agriculture
British Dictionary definitions for communicability

communicable

/ (kəˈmjuːnɪkəbəl) /

adjective

capable of being communicated
(of a disease or its causative agent) capable of being passed on readily
Derived Formscommunicability or communicableness, nouncommunicably, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for communicability

communicable

adj.

late 14c., from Old French communicable, from Late Latin communicabilis, from communicare (see communication).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for communicability

communicable

[ kə-myōō′nĭ-kə-bəl ]

adj.

Transmittable between persons or species; contagious.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for communicability

communicable

[ kə-myōō′nĭ-kə-bəl ]

Capable of being transmitted from a person or animal to another person or animal, either through direct or indirect transmission, including insect or other vectors. Chickenpox is a communicable disease.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.