as in infectious
capable of being passed by physical contact from one person to another
communicable diseases that are usually transmitted sexually
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Recent Examples of communicable
And necropsy data taken from dead fish samples so far have not turned up any communicable pathogens and the fish were negative for bacterial infections, according to the FWC.
—
David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
Fear of disease, for example, can be as communicable as the microbes that cause it.
—Catherine Buerger, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024
The new variants of the COVID-19 virus are reported to be very communicable, but weakened in strength — meaning that people are more likely to contract the virus but much less likely to land in the hospital, or even the doctor’s office, as a result of the illness caused by the virus.
—Amy Dickinson, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022
During the war in Yemen, for example, Saudi forces have cut off local populations’ access to clean water and sanitation, placing citizens at high risk for communicable illnesses.
—Marwa Daoudy, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for communicable
David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
Fear of disease, for example, can be as communicable as the microbes that cause it.
—Catherine Buerger, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024
The new variants of the COVID-19 virus are reported to be very communicable, but weakened in strength — meaning that people are more likely to contract the virus but much less likely to land in the hospital, or even the doctor’s office, as a result of the illness caused by the virus.
—Amy Dickinson, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022
During the war in Yemen, for example, Saudi forces have cut off local populations’ access to clean water and sanitation, placing citizens at high risk for communicable illnesses.
—Marwa Daoudy, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for communicable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for communicable
Adjective
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The infectious energy and Justin Bieber-style appeal of 25-year-old country hitmaker Bailey Zimmerman was not reflected in the CMA nominations.—
Marcus K. Dowling,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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For example, a range of different infectious pathogens and diseases can lead to different chronic medical conditions such as COVID-19 leading to long COVID, human papillomavirus to cervical cancer, Helicobacter pylori to stomach ulcers and cancer, Epstein-Barr Virus to lymphoma.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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His provisional cause of death was given as multi-organ failure due to infective endocarditis, a rare infection of the inner lining or valves of the heart.—
Daniel Taylor,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
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On July 30, Ray updated her fans again, revealing her diagnosis of infective endocarditis, a severe heart infection.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
31 July 2024
Adjective
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Even when the authors simulated the emergence of new, more transmissible variants (a frequent situation that proved very challenging to forecasters during the COVID-19 pandemic), the algorithm proved robust, adjusting quickly by re-estimating transmission rates.—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Legionnaires’ disease is not transmissible from person to person.—
Tina Chen,
Mercury News,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Communicable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/communicable. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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