incidence

noun

in·ci·dence ˈin(t)-sə-dən(t)s

-ˌden(t)s

Synonyms of incidence next

: rate of occurrence or influence

a high incidence of crime

: an act or the fact or manner of falling upon or affecting : occurrence

: angle of incidence

: the arrival of something (such as a projectile or a ray of light) at a surface

Did you know?

The words incident, incidence, and instance may seem similar (and, in fact, incident and incidence are closely related), but they are not used identically. In current use, incidence usually means "rate of occurrence" and is often qualified in some way ("a high incidence of diabetes"). Incident usually refers to a particular event, often something unusual or unpleasant ("many such incidents go unreported"). Instance suggests a particular occurrence that is offered as an example ("another instance of bureaucratic bumbling"); it can also be synonymous with case ("many instances in which the wrong form was submitted"). The plural incidences sometimes occurs in such contexts as "several recent incidences of crime," but this use is often criticized as incorrect.

Examples of incidence in a Sentence

an increased incidence of diabetes a high incidence of criminal behavior

Recent Examples on the Web The team found that all four cohorts had an elevated incidence of mesothelioma among naval veterans. —

Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Nov. 2023 Men are 20% more likely than women to be diagnosed, although the incidence is more equal as age increases. —

Cara Lynn Shultz, Peoplemag, 27 Oct. 2023 The studies looked at incidence of stroke, as well as the concentrations of common pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, present in the air within five days of people having a stroke. —

Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, 27 Sep. 2023 To increase the likelihood of reaching households with immigrant adults, strata with higher incidence of immigrants overall, and of certain countries of origin in particular, were oversampled. —

Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2023 Statistics from the period of time between 1950 and 1975 in the U.S., when there still was no new fancy detection technology, the incidence of breast cancer cases per every 100,000 people increased from 66.6 to 119.2 cases, according to a 2003 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. —

Sofia Quaglia, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2023 One study in The Netherlands that asked people to take cold showers every day for 30 days, reported a 29 percent decrease in incidences of illness amongst participants. —

Georgia Day, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2023 Yet some critics worry that expanding access to the powerful substances could lead to higher incidence of potentially serious side effects and harm, such as confusion, anxiety and panic attacks. —

Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023 Another study published in the same year credits greenspaces — and yes, the Sonoran Desert features a variety of green plants — with a reduction in diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and salivary cortisol, as well as the incidence of type II diabetes and stroke. —

Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 26 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incidence.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.