From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcontagioncon‧ta‧gion /kənˈteɪdʒən/ noun 1 MI[uncountable] technical a situation in which a disease is spread by people touching each other There is some danger of contagion.2 MI[countable] technical a disease that can be passed from person to person by touch3 [singular] formalSPREAD a feeling or attitude that spreads quickly between people or places a contagion of fear spread from city to city
Examples from the Corpus
contagion• Then there was a spread of relief, an outbreak of joy, a contagion of exuberance.• Finally, there is the strong possibility that a contagion effect will operate in this setting.• Nor will notions of contagion and susceptibility be on the agenda when we meet them.• a serious risk of contagion• In other words, Summerlee, there is a sort of contagion effect.• The new administration leaned toward a more extreme view on contagion than patients had experienced in years.• If it were quarantined, the contagion would stop.• This way the contagion of hysteria is carried forth.From Longman Business Dictionarycontagioncon‧ta‧gion /kənˈteɪdʒən/ noun [countable, uncountable] when problems in one country, area etc spread to other countries etcEurope and Japan are feeling the effects as the slow US economy spreads its contagion.The Japanese banking crisis has created the possibility of worldwide financial contagion.Origin contagion (1300-1400) Old French Latin contagio, from contingere; → CONTINGENT1 