as in infection
sickness that can be passed from one person, plant, or animal to another
Parents are advised to vaccinate their children against contagious diseases.
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Recent Examples of contagious disease
Bird flu was to blame for elevated retail prices during the first five months of 2025, and the course of the highly contagious disease is a big reason why prices are much lower now.
—
ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases, spreading easily through air droplets, liable to infect up to 90% of unvaccinated people nearby.
—Katie Silver, NPR, 28 Mar. 2026
Measles, among the most contagious diseases, is typically the first to infect undervaccinated communities and serves as a warning that other scourges will follow.
—Patricia Callahan, ProPublica, 19 Mar. 2026
Recognizing this need, the Animal Defense League recently broke ground on a 8,300-square-foot isolation center designed for animals with contagious diseases.
—Cathy M. Rosenthal, San Antonio Express-News, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for contagious disease
ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases, spreading easily through air droplets, liable to infect up to 90% of unvaccinated people nearby.
—Katie Silver, NPR, 28 Mar. 2026
Measles, among the most contagious diseases, is typically the first to infect undervaccinated communities and serves as a warning that other scourges will follow.
—Patricia Callahan, ProPublica, 19 Mar. 2026
Recognizing this need, the Animal Defense League recently broke ground on a 8,300-square-foot isolation center designed for animals with contagious diseases.
—Cathy M. Rosenthal, San Antonio Express-News, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for contagious disease
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contagious disease
Noun
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The virus gained attention after the late actor Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from hantavirus infection in New Mexico last year.—
Gerald Imray,
Chicago Tribune,
3 May 2026
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Chris' flu eventually became a bacterial pneumonia infection that affected his entire body, including his kidneys, lungs and blood.—
Lexi Lane,
PEOPLE,
2 May 2026
Noun
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The virus can be transmitted to humans through urine or fecal matter and cause fatal lung and kidney complications in humans.—
Allison Kiehl,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Health authorities in South Africa and Switzerland identified the circulating strain as the Andes virus, the only hantavirus believed to spread from person to person, which is found in South America.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
Noun
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Hantavirus disease is considered rare, with 890 cases reported in the United States between 1993 and 2023.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
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In 2024, for example, more than 700 newborns died from spontaneous bleeding in their brains, which could have been complicated by liver disease or prematurity.—
Lee Hutchinson,
ArsTechnica,
6 May 2026
Noun
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None of the people being monitored have shown signs of illness, health officials told USA TODAY.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
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Jeremy Sochan entered as a small-ball option, and the Knicks were already piecing together frontcourt minutes with Robinson unavailable because of illness.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contagious disease.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contagious%20disease. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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