PANDEMIC) Synonyms: 66 Similar and Opposite Words

pandemic 1 of 2

noun

Definition of pandemic

as in epidemic

medical an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world The 1918 flu pandemic claimed millions of lives. the AIDS pandemic

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Relevance

pandemic

2 of 2

adjective

as in widespread

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Dissimilar 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 pandemic

Noun

The pandemic battered the business, and the restaurants eventually closed. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2026 Before the pandemic, the YMCA generated about $100 million in annual revenue, with nearly 90% coming from memberships and programs. — Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2026

Adjective

At the previous trial, an FBI agent testified that the plotters spent a total of $343,000 on the kidnapping and assassination scheme, financed through a patchwork of loans, credit cards, wire transfers and the pandemic relief funds. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 9 Sep. 2026 The Patriots visited Seattle in 2020, but the stadium was empty due to pandemic protocols. — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pandemic

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pandemic

Noun

Sure enough, the more popular the show, the bigger the epidemic of pedophilia seems to grow.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2026
The scale traces the epidemic as Lewis’s community suffered and dwindled.

— Livia Caligor, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of epidemic

Adjective

There has been a widespread opinion that football has become too rigid and regimented in recent seasons, but Luis Enrique’s PSG are one of the few antidotes to that.

— Art de Roché, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Millions of people live in or near bear habitat across the Rockies, where widespread drought has reduced supplies of nuts, berries and plants that bears eat.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of widespread

Adjective

First, though, Cline builds up to a description of a long-ago incident between the two boys that feels out of place in a novel about a more pervasive, murky sense of failure.

— Emma Alpern, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
At Joontos, the chefs concoct dishes such as the batata harra, which recalls patatas bravas with black lime—a pervasive, earthy-bitter top note in Saudi cuisine.

— Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of pervasive

Adjective

Based on prior studies, Kingham says, tislelizumab appears to be most effective in patients with a specific genetic signature - a signature that is three times more prevalent in Nigeria than in the US.

— Caleb Hellerman, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
In Vermont, federal researchers are hoping to save American elm trees by infecting young saplings with the fungal disease that has nearly exterminated the tall, once prevalent, East Coast trees.

— Susanne Rust Follow, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of prevalent

Adjective

The widespread belief was Clippers general manager Trent Redden would fill that role, but the team has not publicly revealed its plans.

— Law Murray, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
That equation represents a much more general concept that can be applied to all sorts of figures and spatial dimensions.

— Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of general

Adjective

But coming just four months after the October 7th Hamas attack, tensions were high, misinformation was rife, and Israel’s decades-long conflation of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism had burrowed deep into the Western psyche.

— Jay Weissberg, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
Speculation has been rife for years that strong men aid their performance with steroids.

— Rob Tanner, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of rife

Adjective

The build-up to that tie was dominated by a public row with another of his own team’s players, this time French attacker Allan Saint-Maximin.

— Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
The Moon opposes your ruler Pluto, creating tension between public responsibilities and private concerns.

— Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of public

Adjective

The group noted the projection was revised upward from an earlier estimate owing to an additional year in the budget window and higher prevailing interest rates.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026
Likewise, prevailing concepts of Hamlet at the time cast the prince as a wan and melancholic, leading critics to bristle at Bernhardt’s energy.

— Betsy Golden Kellem, JSTOR Daily, 18 Mar. 2026

Definition of prevailing

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pandemic

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“Pandemic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pandemic. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of pandemic

noun

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

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