transmissible
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of transmissible
1635–45; < Latin trānsmiss ( us ) ( see transmission) + -ible
Explanation
Having a transmissible illness is a good excuse to stay home from school or work: it means that whatever bug you have spreads very easily to other people. The dangerous thing about viruses like polio, smallpox, Covid-19, and the flu is that they're extremely transmissible, spreading easily from person to person. Depending on the pathogen, this happens when a sick person sneezes, coughs, or touches a surface with germy fingers. The Latin root of transmissible is transmittere, "transfer or send across," from trans-, "across," and mittere, "to send or throw."
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.
These leaders argued that, with appropriate oversight, viruses could be manipulated, making them more transmissible or deadly, to evaluate how likely they were to make the leap to humans from animals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The only hantavirus type that is transmissible between humans -- the Andes virus -- has been confirmed among those who have tested positive, fuelling international concern.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
The hepatitis B virus is highly transmissible and many people may not know they have it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
The National Trust spokeswoman added: "Decaying marine mammals pose a serious health risk. They can carry a range of diseases that are transmissible to humans and dogs."
From BBC ● May 26, 2025
Isocrates, also a Greek physician and contemporary of Hippocrates, was the first to write of tuberculosis as a disease transmissible through contagion.
From Nurses' Papers on Tuberculosis : read before the Nurses' Study Circle of the Dispensary Department, Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium by Various
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.
