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View synonyms for epidemic

epidemic

[ ep-i-dem-ik ]

adjective

  1. Also epidemical. (of a disease) affecting many persons at the same time, and spreading from person to person in a locality where the disease is not permanently prevalent. Compare pandemic ( def 1 ).
  2. extremely prevalent; widespread.


noun

  1. a temporary prevalence of a disease.
  2. a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of something:

    an epidemic of riots.

epidemic

/ ˌɛpɪˈdɛmɪk /

adjective

  1. (esp of a disease) attacking or affecting many persons simultaneously in a community or area
“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


noun

  1. a widespread occurrence of a disease

    an influenza epidemic

  2. a rapid development, spread, or growth of something, esp something unpleasant

    an epidemic of strikes

“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

epidemic

/ ĕp′ĭ-dĕmĭk /

  1. An outbreak of a disease or illness that spreads rapidly among individuals in an area or population at the same time.
  2. See also endemic


epidemic

  1. A contagious disease that spreads rapidly and widely among the population in an area. Immunization and quarantine are two of the methods used to control an epidemic.


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Derived Forms

  • ˌepiˈdemically, adverb
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Other Words From

  • ep·i·dem·i·cal·ly adverb
  • ep·i·de·mic·i·ty [ep-i-d, uh, -, mis, -i-tee], noun
  • in·ter·ep·i·dem·ic adjective
  • pre·ep·i·dem·ic noun adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of epidemic1

First recorded in 1595–1605; obsolete epidem(y) (from Late Latin epidēmia, from Greek epidēmía “staying in one place, among the people,” equivalent to epi- epi- + dêm(os) “people of a district” + -ia -y 3 ) + -ic
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Word History and Origins

Origin of epidemic1

C17: from French épidémique, via Late Latin from Greek epidēmia literally: among the people, from epi- + dēmos people
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Example Sentences

America’s coronavirus epidemic hit blue states particularly hard at first, especially in the Northeast.

From Vox

Parents care about safety, and they feel that bullying has become an epidemic in our schools.

We didn’t take a stand on ending gun violence and the gun violence epidemic because of the impact that it has on perpetuating racism in this country.

From Fortune

The coronavirus pandemic has shown anyone paying attention that epidemics do not end at borders.

We have high rates of heart disease and diabetes and these factors make an already dangerous epidemic particularly lethal to folks like me, and to my community.

While public interest in Ebola continues to dwindle, the epidemic itself continues to soar.

With a mortality rate of 70 percent, the more cases that arise, the deadlier this epidemic becomes.

Has L.A. figured out how to stop the epidemic it set loose on the world?

In mid-summer, as the epidemic swept through the region, schools closed one by one.

Rape and sexual assault may be less of an epidemic than other studies suggest.

Added to this, an epidemic of cholera had just broken out in the town, and the childrens maid nearly fell a victim to the disease.

Hardly had the boys mother left St. Petersburg, when an epidemic of scarlet fever broke out in the school.

At his instigation a persecution of unprecedented virulence raged like an epidemic throughout the empire.

In Richmond alone, approximately eight hundred people succumbed during this epidemic period.

For example, a dreadful influenza epidemic occurred followed by a severe fuel shortage due to a railroad strike.

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