communicable disease

noun

plural communicable diseases

: an infectious disease (such as cholera, hepatitis, influenza, malaria, measles, or tuberculosis) that is transmissible by contact with infected individuals or their bodily discharges or fluids (such as respiratory droplets, blood, or semen), by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects, by ingestion of contaminated food or water, or by direct or indirect contact with disease vectors (such as mosquitoes, fleas, or mice)

Note: The terms communicable disease and contagious disease are often used interchangeably. However, communicable diseases such as malaria or schistosomiasis that are spread by contact with disease vectors are not typically considered to be "contagious" diseases since they cannot be spread from direct contact with another person.

Examples of communicable disease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The West Facility started as the communicable disease facility, but has since mushroomed into a hodgepodge of ailing people, difficult to handle detainees and a number of dorm units that were recently expanded. —Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 20 Mar. 2025

For example, the Public Health Service Act authorizes the HHS secretary to lead federal responses to health threats, including declaring a public health emergency to control communicable diseases. —Angela Mattie, The Conversation, 23 Jan. 2025

The court rejected an appeal from correction officials who argued the prisoner’s lawsuit should be dismissed because the Muskegon Correctional Facility faced an impossible situation in keeping at bay a novel communicable disease in a group setting where there are significant security issues. —Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY, 13 Jan. 2025

As the country’s primary health challenges have shifted from communicable diseases to noncommunicable ones over recent decades, the organization has adapted, expanding its reach and priorities to meet changing public health needs. —Jordan Miller, The Conversation, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1785, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for communicable disease

• abcs
• absentees
• addressees
• adoptees
• allottees
• amputees
• antifreeze
• appellees
• appointees
• arrestees
• artistes
• assamese

Medical Definition

communicable disease

noun

: an infectious disease (as cholera, hepatitis, influenza, malaria, measles, or tuberculosis) that is transmissible by contact with infected individuals or their bodily discharges or fluids (as respiratory droplets, blood, or semen), by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects, by ingestion of contaminated food or water, or by direct or indirect contact with disease vectors (as mosquitoes, fleas, or mice)

Note: The terms communicable disease and contagious disease are often used interchangeably. However, communicable diseases (as malaria or schistosomiasis) that are spread by contact with disease vectors are not typically considered to be "contagious" diseases since they cannot be spread from direct contact with another person.