contagious disease

Cultural

An infectious disease that is spread through contact with infected individuals; also called a communicable disease. Contact with the bodily secretions of such individuals, or with objects that they have contaminated, can also spread this kind of disease.

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.

Kenya has never recorded a case of Ebola and many oppose the idea of bringing potential carriers of the highly contagious disease into the country.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

Canine distemper virus is a highly contagious disease that attacks the host's respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026

Five years after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, we seem to have a lot more contagious disease, not less.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2025

Babies are at high risk from the highly contagious disease.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2024

Sure, he was a good friend—one of the only people at camp who didn’t treat her as if she had a contagious disease.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023