contagion
kuhn-TAY-juhn
/kənˈteɪdʒən/
The communication of disease from one person to another by close contact.
While often used for biological diseases, it is frequently used metaphorically for the spread of emotions, ideas, or financial instability.
The story behind the word. The word comes from the Latin 'contagio', meaning 'a touching' or 'contact'. Historically, it reflected the early medical understanding that diseases were passed through physical touch or proximity, long before the germ theory of disease was proven.
Word relationships
- infection: Infection refers to the state of being infected, whereas contagion emphasizes the process of spreading through contact.
- purification: The removal of infectious agents rather than their spread.
Commonly confused with
- infection: All contagions are infections, but not all infections are contagious (e.g., an infected wound from a rusty nail cannot be passed to another person).
Word family
- contagious (adjective): Able to be passed from one person to another.
Collocations
- fear of contagion
- rapid contagion
- emotional contagion
Example sentences
- "The contagion was so swift that those who were healthy one day were often dead the next." Describing the spread of the Black Death.
- "There is no contagion quite as powerful as the fear of the unknown." Metaphorical use in literature.
Memory hook
Think of 'contact' and 'contagion'—both start with 'con' and involve things touching. Contagion = Contact.
When not to use
Do not use 'contagion' to refer to the disease-causing agent itself; use 'pathogen' for that.
Fun facts
- The 2011 film 'Contagion' saw a massive spike in viewership during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic due to its realistic portrayal of a global health crisis.
Related words
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