as in viruses
sickness that can be passed from one person, plant, or animal to another
The rumors spread like a contagion.
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Recent Examples of contagions
Neutrality allowed the nation to build strength, expand westward, and avoid the ideological contagions sweeping the continent.
—
Daniel Ross Goodman, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
The lack of information surrounding outbreaks is a new and troubling trend among local and state officials nationwide, according to health advocates and lawyers who specialize in tracking foodborne illnesses and other environmental contagions.
—Robert Anglen, AZCentral.com, 8 Dec. 2025
This Halloween, step into stories where science meets terror, where contagions kill, landscapes devour explorers, and technology crushes the human soul.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Both also blamed those who were not responsible, traded in the language of contagions and moral certitude, and believed that controlling the medium could solve the problem — or, at the very least, not deepen the problem further.
—Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
Daniel Ross Goodman, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
The lack of information surrounding outbreaks is a new and troubling trend among local and state officials nationwide, according to health advocates and lawyers who specialize in tracking foodborne illnesses and other environmental contagions.
—Robert Anglen, AZCentral.com, 8 Dec. 2025
This Halloween, step into stories where science meets terror, where contagions kill, landscapes devour explorers, and technology crushes the human soul.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Both also blamed those who were not responsible, traded in the language of contagions and moral certitude, and believed that controlling the medium could solve the problem — or, at the very least, not deepen the problem further.
—Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contagions
Noun
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Tomatoes are susceptible to many viruses, such as tomato yellow leaf curl virus, that cause leaves to twist and curl.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
29 May 2026
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Many viruses can persist in semen for years, says Steven Bradfute, an immunologist at the University of New Mexico, and whether the pathogen remains infectious can vary from virus to virus.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Its buttery texture melts onto the lips, bypassing the drag and pull that plagues drier drugstore pencils.—
Micaela English,
Glamour,
30 Apr. 2026
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Another kind of typhus, carried by lice and caused by the bacteria Rickettsia prowazekii, produced historic plagues that devastated populations during times of war, famine and poverty, the National Institutes for Health said.—
Don Sweeney
April 8,
Sacbee.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contagions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contagions. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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