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CONTAGION
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people
Example:
the infection of his enthusiasm for poetry
Synonyms:
contagion; infection
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("contagion" is a kind of...):
communication (something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups)
Derivation:
contagious (easily diffused or spread as from one person to another)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An incident in which an infectious disease is transmitted
Synonyms:
contagion; infection; transmission
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("contagion" is a kind of...):
incident (a single distinct event)
Derivation:
contagious ((of disease) capable of being transmitted by infection)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Any disease easily transmitted by contact
Synonyms:
contagion; contagious disease
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("contagion" is a kind of...):
communicable disease (a disease that can be communicated from one person to another)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "contagion"):
flu; grippe; influenza (an acute febrile highly contagious viral disease)
measles; morbilli; rubeola (an acute and highly contagious viral disease marked by distinct red spots followed by a rash; occurs primarily in children)
diphtheria (acute contagious infection caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae; marked by the formation of a false membrane in the throat and other air passages causing difficulty in breathing)
scarlatina; scarlet fever (an acute communicable disease (usually in children) characterized by fever and a red rash)
pox (a contagious disease characterized by purulent skin eruptions that may leave pock marks)
trench mouth; Vincent's angina; Vincent's infection (an acute communicable infection of the respiratory tract and mouth marked by ulceration of the mucous membrane)
Cupid's disease; Cupid's itch; dose; sexually transmitted disease; social disease; STD; VD; venereal disease; venereal infection; Venus's curse (a communicable infection transmitted by sexual intercourse or genital contact)
Derivation:
contagious ((of disease) capable of being transmitted by infection)