contagion

[kuh n-tey-juh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR contagion ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the communication of disease by direct or indirect contact.

a disease so communicated.

the medium by which a contagious disease is transmitted.

harmful or undesirable contact or influence.

the ready transmission or spread as of an idea or emotion from person to person: a contagion of fear.

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; cf. contact

Related formscon·ta·gioned, adjectivenon·con·ta·gion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for contagion

Contemporary Examples of contagion

In addition, the protests had been largely contained to very specific areas and the fear of contagion never materialized.
Police Brutality Inflames Hong Kong
Ben Leung
October 15, 2014
As scary as contagion can seem, nobody should be panicking, no matter which virus happens to be making the headlines.
What You Need to Know About Enterovirus
Russell Saunders
October 3, 2014
Further, the contagion effect of suicide and the resultant attention to it is a well-documented phenomenon.
'Genie, You're Free': Suicide Is Not Liberation
Russell Saunders
August 12, 2014
But although desire cannot be imparted by argument, it can be by contagion.
The Real Memorial Day: Oliver Wendell Holmes's Salute To A Momentous American Anniversary
Malcolm Jones
May 26, 2014
In fact, we have been inoculated from the experience of contagion.
When TB Was a Death Sentence: An Excerpt From ‘The Remedy’
Thomas Goetz
April 16, 2014

Historical Examples of contagion

He had caught the contagion of her mood and vague alarm swept him.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
I see already that from the world, vile as it is, you have nothing of contagion to fear.
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The old sores which are bathed have nothing to fear, and offer no risk of contagion.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
The very spectacle of that form which I had learned to love is mildew and contagion to my eyes.
Imogen
William Godwin
When the cure is effected, let the clothes be carefully fumigated with sulphur, or the contagion will again be communicated.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for contagion

contagion

noun

the transmission of disease from one person to another by direct or indirect contact

a contagious disease

another name for contagium

a corrupting or harmful influence that tends to spread; pollutant

the spreading of an emotional or mental state among a number of peoplethe contagion of mirth

Word Origin for contagion

C14: from Latin contāgiō a touching, infection, from contingere; see contact

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 contagion

late 14c., from Old French contagion, from Latin contagionem (nominative contagio) "a touching, contact, contagion," related to contingere "touch closely" (see contact (n.)).

Medicine definitions for contagion