CONTAGIOUS • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Contagious

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/kəntˈeɪdʒəs/ Listen

adjective

Contagious adj.

1.

(Med.) Communicable by contact, by a virus, or by a bodily exhalation; catching; as, a contagious disease.

2.

Conveying or generating disease; pestilential; poisonous; as, contagious air.

3.

Spreading or communicable from one to another; exciting similar emotions or conduct in others. "His genius rendered his courage more contagious." "The spirit of imitation is contagious."

Synonyms: Contagious, Infectious. Although often used as synonyms, originally these words were used in very diverse senses; but, in general, a contagious disease has been considered as one which is caught from another by some near contact, by the breath, by bodily effluvia, etc.; while an infectious disease supposed some entirely different cause acting by a hidden influence, like the miasma of prison ships, of marshes, etc., infecting the system with disease. In either case, a pathogenic microorganism is the direct cause of the disease. This distinction, though not universally admitted by medical men, as to the literal meaning of the words, certainly applies to them in their figurative use. Thus we speak of the contagious influence of evil associates; their contagion of bad example, the contagion of fear, etc., when we refer to transmission by proximity or contact. On the other hand, we speak of infection by bad principles, etc., when we consider anything as diffused by some hidden influence.

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Etymology of 'Contagious'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Contagious" Quotes from Famous Books

... medical inspection to detect contagious diseases, in which the movement everywhere began, it was next extended to tests for eyesight and hearing, to be made by teachers or physicians, and has since been enlarged to include physical examinations to detect hidden diseases and a constructive health-program ...

— THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION • ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY

... friends, in the city. The merchant in whose service he had placed himself was connected with him by no considerations but that of interest. What then must be his situation when seized with a malady which all believed to be contagious, and the fear of which was able to dissolve the strongest ties that bind ...

— Arthur Mervyn - Or, Memoirs of the Year 1793 • Charles Brockden Brown

... of rousing the English to this grand world-wide enterprise William Carey acquired well-earned distinction. Though of humble origin and wanting in early training, his spiritual vision and contagious enthusiasm made him a leader of power. Thus, God chose a cobbler youth to lead the Christian hosts of England out of the bondage of narrow religious sympathies into a world-wide conquest of souls for Christ. Carey's efforts in England were unremitting, and the contagion ...

— India's Problem Krishna or Christ • John P. Jones

... a great way with them. Besides, he had an efficient lieutenant in Henry Bird, the young printer who had picked up his trade in the office, and who acted as Bartley's foreman, so far as the establishment had an organization. Bird had industry and discipline which were contagious, and that love of his work which is said to be growing rare among artisans in the modern subdivision of trades. This boy—for he was only nineteen—worked at his craft early and late out of pleasure in it. He ...

— A Modern Instance • William Dean Howells

... his case is no different from that of hundreds of others who have come out here to 'God's Country' in the hope of beating the daily grind and jumping to fortune at one fell swoop. That sounds rather Irish, doesn't it?" he added, with his contagious grin. ...

— The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle - Or, The Girl Miner of Gold Run • Laura Lee Hope

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