Oxford Dictionary English

    contagion

    noun
    noun
    BrE BrE//kənˈteɪdʒən//
    ; NAmE NAmE//kənˈteɪdʒən//
    Ailments and diseases, Being ill
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  1. 1[uncountable] the spreading of a disease by people touching each other There is no risk of contagion. See related entries: Ailments and diseases, Being ill
  2. 2[countable] (old use) a disease that can be spread by people touching each other
  3. 3[countable] (formal) something bad that spreads quickly by being passed from person to person the contagion of political extremism
    4. compare infection     Word Originlate Middle English (denoting a contagious disease): from Latin contagio(n-), from con- ‘together with’ + the base of tangere ‘to touch’.
See contagion in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishSee contagion in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: contagion
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