as in virus
sickness that can be passed from one person, plant, or animal to another
The rumors spread like a contagion.
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of contagion
Whatever the answer, such personal exposures may be driving a different sort of contagion: public awareness.
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Joshua Cohen, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Oct. 2024
Regardless of whether the legal arguments set out in the complaint ultimately hold, the lawsuit underlines the narrowness of the margin by which Tether sidestepped the contagion that brought down Celsius and a number of other crypto firms in 2022.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 15 Aug. 2024
Maybe Phillips was trying to make some sort of a point about how the Joker isn’t one person but a movement, an entity, a spirit of anarchy that spreads like contagion and holds no loyalties.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Treating political violence like a contagion could help safeguard the future of American democracy.
—Michael Luo, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contagion 
Joshua Cohen, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Oct. 2024
Regardless of whether the legal arguments set out in the complaint ultimately hold, the lawsuit underlines the narrowness of the margin by which Tether sidestepped the contagion that brought down Celsius and a number of other crypto firms in 2022.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 15 Aug. 2024
Maybe Phillips was trying to make some sort of a point about how the Joker isn’t one person but a movement, an entity, a spirit of anarchy that spreads like contagion and holds no loyalties.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Treating political violence like a contagion could help safeguard the future of American democracy.
—Michael Luo, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contagion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contagion
Noun
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The common cold and influenza (the flu) are respiratory illnesses caused by different viruses.Kirstyn Hill, PharmD, MPH, Health, 1 Jan. 2025
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Three non-Californian sites have also reported influenza A (H5) in local wastewater: Du Page County in Illinois, Wapello County in Iowa and Clark County in Nevada. Of those states, only Iowa has reported a human case of the virus, linked to exposure to infected poultry.George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Last Voyage turns the chilling interlude into a slow-moving slasher, neither acknowledging the book’s metaphor of a ship bringing plague nor indulging in the inherent paranoia of its claustrophobic surroundings.Celia Mattison, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
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Even diseases as deadly as the plague don’t kill every prairie dog in a colony.Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 25 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and, in severe cases, death caused by extreme blood loss.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
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With its kinetic performances and genre-pushing structure, Novi’s 75-minute thrill ride lands like a high-stakes fever dream.Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near contagion
Cite this Entry
“Contagion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contagion. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
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