epidemic
- noun
- /ˌɛpɪˈdɛmɪk/
- This epidemic must be contained.
- epidemic of infectious disease
- the epidemic spread
- AIDS epidemic
Uncle Aim died during the COVID epidemic, not of COVID, but of other things.
- Uncle Aim died during the COVID epidemic, not of COVID, but of other things.
- Well, I mean, an epidemic when, when numbers explode.
- And the the COVID epidemic is not over.
- Most people perceive viruses, the silent, invisible killers that cause epidemics and pandemics worldwide.
- Fauci's job is sounding the alarm about epidemics.
- There was another young uncle who died in the influenza epidemic.
- Most people perceive viruses, the silent, invisible killers that caused epidemics and pandemics worldwide.
- Now let's remind ourselves that this is currently still an epidemic of the young and the unvaccinated.
- I think that the COVID epidemic is the end of the big nap.
- Well, why isn't why hasn't there been a smallpox epidemic that killed everyone?
- We also know today that the economic impact of epidemics can be huge.
Examples
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And the the COVID epidemic is not over.
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Less visible, but no less pervasive is the national epidemic of mental health issues.
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Why did an epidemic start and why did it end?
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And you can see from this that the epidemic went up and then it came down again.
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At least until this epidemic is over.
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We're talking about an epidemic here.
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Guess we're having an epidemic of heart attacks.
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In fact, many people are referring to a global epidemic of diabetes.
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Over the past decade, the epidemic has begun to spread through heterosexual transmission.
Academic text (2011) -
The United States is experiencing an epidemic of obesity among both adults and children.
Synonyms
A sudden start of disease or violence that affects many people
A disease that spreads quickly and affects many people in one area
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
A sudden outbreak of a severe stomach infection that affects many people through dirty water or food
- Archaic
An infection of the brain that makes people unable to move their eyes and feel very weak during 1915–1926 outbreaks
- Specialized
A large group of people suddenly become very afraid and act without thinking, spreading quickly
- Specialized
A serious infection of the brain lining that spreads quickly and can kill if not treated
- Literature
A very common situation where many people feel alone and lack close friends
- Specialized
A viral disease called mumps that causes fever and swelling of the glands by the ears and spreads easily
- Specialized
A sudden infection that causes sharp chest pain during outbreaks
- Specialized
A contagious viral illness that causes a short fever and rash and can harm an unborn baby early in pregnancy
How Widespread
Surface Forms
Morphology
epidemic = epi + dem + ic
Built from Greek combining forms (epi- + dem- + -ic); the parts are etymologically meaningful but not standalone English words, so the relation is only partially obvious to average learners.
Etymology
Epidemic comes from Greek parts epi- 'upon' and demos 'people', so it originally meant 'upon the people'. You can see the demos part in democracy, which also means 'people'. That's why an epidemic today is a disease that spreads over many people in a community at the same time.