contagious

Language: en

🇺🇸 /kəˈnteɪdʒəs/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Capable of being transmitted from one person or organism to another by direct or indirect contact, as a disease or infection.; Tending to spread rapidly and easily from person to person, as an emotion, attitude, or behavior; infectious in a figurative sense.; Of or relating to contagion; spreading or tending to spread by contact.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Comparative: more contagious Superlative: most contagious

Collocations

highly contagiouscontagious diseasecontagious laughcontagious enthusiasmcontagious smile

Derivatives

contagioncontagiouslycontagiousnessnoncontagious

Synonyms

infectioustransmissiblecommunicablecatchingspreading

Antonyms

noncontagiousnoninfectious

Commonly confused

infectious
EN: 'Infectious' refers broadly to diseases caused by pathogens; 'contagious' specifically implies spread through direct or indirect contact between people.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember 'contagious' has a 'g' before the '-ious' ending, not '-eous' (a common error is writing 'contageous').

💬 Examples

  1. Measles is highly contagious and can spread through coughing and sneezing.

  2. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and soon the entire team was excited about the project.

  3. The hospital implemented strict protocols for handling patients with contagious conditions.