: rapid communication of an influence (such as a doctrine or emotional state)
b
: an influence that spreads rapidly
Example Sentences
a disease that spreads by contagion People have been warned to keep out of the area to avoid contagion.
Recent Examples on the WebAuthorities in the capital, Kyiv, shut schools for two weeks starting Friday, and similar measures were ordered in other areas with high contagion levels. Compiled Democrat-gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2021 Earlier this year, Spain was briefly the European nation with the most daily deaths, but then imposed the continent’s strictest lockdown and brought contagion levels way down by June. Todd White, Bloomberg.com, 21 Oct. 2020 But Sweden’s higher contagion levels have unnerved its neighbors and other European Union countries.Time, 15 June 2020 My wife says the pandemic has turned me into a recluse, but isolation during this time of contagion is a practical precaution.San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2022 But Democrats aren’t the only politicians to take advantage of the remote voting policy the House of Representatives instituted when the coronavirus pandemic began and its leaders wanted to let Congress members vote while avoiding contagion. Sabrina Eaton, cleveland, 21 Aug. 2022 Some of the most prominent leaders in the crypto space blame the firm's missteps for 80% of market contagion.Fortune, 16 Aug. 2022 The World Health Organization expressed sorrow on Tuesday for the killing of monkeys in Brazil amid fears of monkeypox contagion. Mauricio Savarese, USA TODAY, 12 Aug. 2022 As conditions, contagion and corporate expectations continue to change, a significant portion of the population awaits clarity as to what work may look like in this new paradigm.New York Times, 6 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English contagioun, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French contagiun, borrowed from Latin contāgiōn, contāgiō "contact, contact resulting in disease, infection, pollution," from contag-, variant stem of contingere "to be in contact with, arrive at, affect, fall to one's lot" + -iōn-, -iō, suffix of action nouns formed from compound verbs — more at contingent entry 1
Note: The vowel length in contāgiō is unexpected and difficult to explain; a similarly lengthened vowel is found in other deverbal derivatives with -ag- as a second member (compāgēs "bond, joint," from pangere,ambāgēs "circuitous path," from agere; see agent, pact).