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syndemic

American  
[sin-dem-ik] / ˌsɪnˈdɛm ɪk /

noun

  1. the co-occurrence of more than one epidemic, as HIV and tuberculosis, or substance abuse and mental illness, especially in relation to the biological, social, and psychological interactions of these conditions.

    Poverty is a systemic precondition for the syndemic of obesity and undernutrition.

Etymology

Origin of syndemic

syn(ergistic) ( def. ) + (epi)demic ( def. ); coined in 1944 by Merrill Singer, U.S. medical anthropologist (born 1950)

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.

Public health professionals consider syphilis to be syndemic with HIV and hepatitis, meaning that they often occur at the same time and carry similar societal risk factors.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 26, 2024

In the U.S., conditions were ripe for a syndemic to emerge.

From Scientific American • Aug. 26, 2021

The term syndemic refers to the synergies among epidemics.

From Scientific American • Aug. 26, 2021

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.