as in epidemics
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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Recent Examples of pandemics
These tiny passengers are now proving to be powerful storytellers, helping scientists decode ancient pandemics, dietary habits, and population dynamics.
—
Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 30 Sep. 2025
Just about every awards season this decade has had to shift and readjust calendar dates in the wake of everything from pandemics to industry strikes to natural disasters.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2025
The social, cultural, and economic effects of climate change will be recorded not on hunger stones, but in pandemics, wars, famines, and genocides exacerbated by the effects of higher temperatures.
—Ed Simon
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Two months later, leaders of prominent AI labs, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, signed a one-sentence statement that advocated for treating AI’s existential risk to humanity as seriously as threats posed by nuclear war and pandemics.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Advertisement Advertisement Then there’s the pandemics.
—Michael E. Mann, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
In healthcare, agents might be tasked with coordinating patient care across numerous services, continuously staying up-to-date on relevant studies around treatment and medication, and autonomously tracking and responding to pandemics and public health issues.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
And when the nation grapples with political divisions, civil unrest, social change or pandemics, these public lands – whether technically national parks or other elements in the wider system – are debated and fought over, protested in and used as an example.
—Jeffrey C. Hallo, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025
Life expectancy can be impacted by pandemics, new medical treatments and societal changes, the researchers said, but these factors can’t be predicted in these long-term models.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 30 Sep. 2025
Just about every awards season this decade has had to shift and readjust calendar dates in the wake of everything from pandemics to industry strikes to natural disasters.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2025
The social, cultural, and economic effects of climate change will be recorded not on hunger stones, but in pandemics, wars, famines, and genocides exacerbated by the effects of higher temperatures.
—Ed Simon
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Two months later, leaders of prominent AI labs, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, signed a one-sentence statement that advocated for treating AI’s existential risk to humanity as seriously as threats posed by nuclear war and pandemics.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Advertisement Advertisement Then there’s the pandemics.
—Michael E. Mann, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
In healthcare, agents might be tasked with coordinating patient care across numerous services, continuously staying up-to-date on relevant studies around treatment and medication, and autonomously tracking and responding to pandemics and public health issues.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
And when the nation grapples with political divisions, civil unrest, social change or pandemics, these public lands – whether technically national parks or other elements in the wider system – are debated and fought over, protested in and used as an example.
—Jeffrey C. Hallo, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025
Life expectancy can be impacted by pandemics, new medical treatments and societal changes, the researchers said, but these factors can’t be predicted in these long-term models.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pandemics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pandemics. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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