pandemic

American  

[pan-dem-ik] / pænˈdɛm ɪk /

adjective

1. (of a disease) prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world; epidemic over a large area.

2. general; universal.

   pandemic fear of atomic war.

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noun

1. a disease prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world.

pandemic British  

/ pænˈdɛmɪk /

adjective

1. (of a disease) affecting persons over a wide geographical area; extensively epidemic

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noun

1. a pandemic disease

pandemic Scientific  

/ păn-dĕm′ĭk /

1. An epidemic that spreads over a very wide area, such as an entire country or continent.

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pandemic Cultural  

1. A widespread epidemic affecting a large part of the population.

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Other Word Forms

• interpandemic adjective
• pandemia noun
• pandemicity noun

Etymology

Origin of pandemic

First recorded in 1660–70; from Late Latin pandēm(us), from Greek pándēmos “common, public” ( pan- “all” + dêm(os) “the people” + -os adjective suffix) + -ic; pan-

Example Sentences

Coming as it did on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic, the soaring prices and supply chain delays felt like a body blow.

From Salon

Its strong performance during the pandemic created a high bar for future comparisons.

From Barron's

This included during the onset of the pandemic, an erratically unfolding and socially fracturing catastrophe about which, naturally, Erikson had lots to say.

From The Wall Street Journal

“There’s a huge wave of us who started either during or after the pandemic,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

But things have changed over the years, she says, with the gradual loss of local businesses and a pandemic that isolated an already sequestered town.

From Salon