contagion

noun

con·ta·gion | \ kən-ˈtā-jən

Definition of contagion

1a : a contagious disease

b : the transmission of a disease by direct or indirect contact

c : a disease-producing agent (such as a virus)

2a : poison

b : contagious influence, quality, or nature

c : corrupting influence or contact

3a : rapid communication of an influence (such as a doctrine or emotional state)

b : an influence that spreads rapidly

Examples of contagion in a Sentence

a disease that spreads by contagion People have been warned to keep out of the area to avoid contagion.

Recent Examples on the Web

Both the negative impact of conflict as well as the potential contagion of the conflict reach well beyond the initial region. — Håvard Hegre, Washington Post, "U.N. peacekeeping really can be effective. Here’s how we tabulated this.," 28 June 2018 On the other hand, the OMT program would likely be available—and possibly with few conditions—for any other eurozone member that needed support, providing some degree of protection from any Italian crisis contagion. — Simon Nixon, WSJ, "Italy Still Has Time to Avert a Disaster," 30 May 2018 Now Like a contagion, senescent cells seem to pass on their accelerated aging abilities to healthy cells by releasing a number of factors, including inflammation-producing cytokines that can cause tissues like muscle to deteriorate. — Alice Park, Time, "How Scientists Are Testing Cancer Drugs to Slow Down Aging," 9 July 2018 Even when the two negotiations took place seven days apart, the contagion effect was just as strong. — William Wan, chicagotribune.com, "We often fight rudeness with rudeness. And it can be contagious, research shows," 27 June 2018 The most important responsibility lies in avoiding contagion. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "How not to screw up media coverage of suicides.," 8 June 2018 The emotional-contagion study fell through the cracks. — Fortune, "If You’re a Facebook User, You’re Also a Research Subject," 14 June 2018 The costs of war, however, are not born solely by the countries in conflict, as there is potential for contagion of the conflict itself. — Håvard Hegre, Washington Post, "U.N. peacekeeping really can be effective. Here’s how we tabulated this.," 28 June 2018 The hysteria set off the rest of the group, unleashing a contagion of crying that left the staff at a loss. — Author: Maria Sacchetti, Kevin Sieff, Marc Fisher, Anchorage Daily News, "Separated migrant children are all over the country," 25 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'contagion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.