as in prevalence
the rate at which something happens
They found an increased incidence of crime in the city when social programs were cut.
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Recent Examples of incidence
The incidence and mortality of oropharyngeal cancer have grown over the past three decades, particularly because of increases in HPV.
—
Jillian Taylor, StateImpact, 20 Jan. 2026
Prostate cancer incidence continues to rise for men, as it is also diagnosed twice as often as second-ranking lung cancer.
—Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Overall cancer incidence has remained broadly steady.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 14 Jan. 2026
For many common cancers, including breast and prostate, incidence continues to increase.
—Sara Moniuszko, USA Today, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incidence
Jillian Taylor, StateImpact, 20 Jan. 2026
Prostate cancer incidence continues to rise for men, as it is also diagnosed twice as often as second-ranking lung cancer.
—Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Overall cancer incidence has remained broadly steady.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 14 Jan. 2026
For many common cancers, including breast and prostate, incidence continues to increase.
—Sara Moniuszko, USA Today, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incidence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incidence
Noun
-
The prevalence of obesity and depression increased among young adults between 2013 and 2023, while diabetes, chronic kidney disease and stroke rose among middle aged adults and chronic kidney disease has become more prevalent among senior citizens.—
Tami Luhby,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
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Lesotho has one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV in the world, with around a quarter of adults living with the virus.—
Majirata Latela,
The Dial,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Each episode will drop on the 250th anniversary of its occurrence.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Jan. 2026
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While such storms are not rare occurrences, the recipe of weather events leading up to the first snowflake doesn’t follow any distinctive pattern, at least not one researchers and meteorologists have been able to identify.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Marion’s light voice eludes him, as if children exist in a frequency to which Jim is not attuned.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Under the city’s gate reallocation process, gates at O’Hare are allocated based on an airline’s flying frequency the previous year.—
Talia Soglin,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incidence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incidence. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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