epidemic 1 of 2

noun

Definition of epidemicnext
1
as in pandemic

Related Words

Relevance
2
as in eruption

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

epidemic

2 of 2

adjective

ˌe-pə-ˈde-mik How to pronounce epidemic (audio)
as in infectious
exciting a similar feeling or reaction in others the little girl's giggles were epidemic, and soon the entire gathering was laughing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of epidemic
Noun
Although annual overdose deaths have declined since peaking in 2022, the epidemic remains one of the nation's deadliest public health crises, fueling years of litigation against drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacy chains. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 Summary The Democratic Republic of Congo is deploying 70,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine to combat its rapidly escalating epidemic, which has already caused over 5,700 infections and 2,800 deaths. — Victoria Forster, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Adjective
Autism, insulin resistance, and autoimmune diagnoses have reached epidemic proportions. — David Ferry, Wired News, 10 Dec. 2025 From Breath To Burnout The early identification of imbalances caused by chronic stress resonates deeply in our current health climate, where burnout, emotional exhaustion and cognitive fatigue are silently epidemic. — Trisha Swift, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for epidemic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for epidemic
  1. pandemic
  2. eruption
  3. infectious
  4. plague
  5. explosion
  6. pestilence
  7. upswing
  8. increase
Noun
  • Indeed, inflation has only exceeded the upper bound of the target range four times in the 24 years since inflation targeting was introduced, and three of those four years occurred during the COVID pandemic.
    — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Food and Drug Administration inspections of foreign food sites — including the Mexican farm linked to the ongoing outbreak — are down nearly 35% since 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to agency records.
    — Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of pandemic
Noun
  • The Geology Agency cautioned that volcanic activity remains elevated and the probability of further eruptions is still high.
    — Niniek Karmini, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The volcano launched ash into the air and into the city of Jakarta and the Lampung province during a 25-hour-long eruption.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of eruption
Adjective
  • Public health experts said the move amounted to extraordinary political interference in the authority of a state health department and an effort to minimize the risks of the highly infectious virus.
    — Reuters, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The patients had gone to UCLA for cancer and infectious-disease treatments, high-risk women’s services, major organ transplants and other specialty medicine care, the association said.
    — Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of infectious
Noun
  • Advertisement The plague also changed the terms on which the survivors lived.
    — JP Mangalindan, Time, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The barren English countryside has been ravaged by a plague that killed half the population.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of plague
Noun
  • One resident, Iryna Barisenkova, recalled hearing loud explosions while traveling on public transport.
    — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Captain Dixon says thankfully things were much calmer on Monday compared to Sunday, when there were constant Mayday calls from a man overboard to a sinking vessel — even an explosion at a dock nearby as a boat was refueling.
    — Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of explosion
Noun
  • As famine, war, pestilence and death galloped through, religious thought had been taking on an apocalyptic and self-abnegatory fervor.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 July 2026
  • Some of those tombstones explicitly referred to a pestilence as the cause of death.
    — Marc Zimmer, The Conversation, 12 May 2026
Definition of pestilence
Noun
  • In a recent note to clients, Bitwise’s director of research for Europe, André Dragosch, said the cryptocurrency’s recent upswing comes as investors have treated it more as a store of value than a risky tech stock.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The economic upswing comes with growing concerns about displacement and a chronic housing shortage in a city where previous tech booms have already pushed many residents out.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of upswing
Noun
  • The penalty tax is a scale that progressively increases based on how many millions a team is over the luxury-tax threshold.
    — Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • After adjusting for demographic, lifestyle, health and environmental factors, the researchers found that any increase in light exposure above 3 lux during nighttime sleep was associated with measurable, subtle cardiac damage.
    — Barbara Mantel, NBC news, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of increase

Browse Nearby Words

epicures
epidemic
epidemics
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Epidemic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/epidemic. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on epidemic

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about epidemic

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of empirical

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All