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epidemic

epidemic

300 4.6
A disease that spreads to many people in one area at the same time
  • noun
  • /ˌɛpɪˈdɛmɪk/
translation icon : epidemia
  • 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.

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Examples

  • And the the COVID epidemic is not over.

  • Less visible, but no less pervasive is the national epidemic of mental health issues.

  • Why did an epidemic start and why did it end?

  • And you can see from this that the epidemic went up and then it came down again.

  • At least until this epidemic is over.

  • We're talking about an epidemic here.

  • Guess we're having an epidemic of heart attacks.

  • In fact, many people are referring to a global epidemic of diabetes.

  • 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

outbreak
vsepidemic
188 3.5

A sudden start of disease or violence that affects many people

is a widespread occurrence of infection in a community rather than a sudden start
epidemic disease
vsepidemic
1 3.5

A disease that spreads quickly and affects many people in one area

is the event of that illness spreading widely at a particular time

Antonyms

1 7.8

A plant, animal, or disease that is regularly found in a particular place

Compounds

5 2.8

A large outbreak of flu that affects many people in one area

A disease that spreads quickly and affects many people in one area

epidemic cholera
  • Specialized
6.0

A sudden outbreak of a severe stomach infection that affects many people through dirty water or food

8.6

An infection of the brain that makes people unable to move their eyes and feel very weak during 1915–1926 outbreaks

epidemic hysteria
  • Specialized
8.8

A large group of people suddenly become very afraid and act without thinking, spreading quickly

epidemic meningitis
  • Specialized
6.7

A serious infection of the brain lining that spreads quickly and can kill if not treated

epidemic myalgia
  • Specialized
8.6

A disease that causes sudden chest pain and spreads in outbreaks

6.0

A very common situation where many people feel alone and lack close friends

epidemic parotitis
  • Specialized
5.9

A viral disease called mumps that causes fever and swelling of the glands by the ears and spreads easily

epidemic pleurodynia
  • Specialized
9.9

A sudden infection that causes sharp chest pain during outbreaks

epidemic roseola
  • Specialized
9.0

A contagious viral illness that causes a short fever and rash and can harm an unborn baby early in pregnancy

How Widespread

pandemic
  • Specialized
43 4.0
epidemic
300 4.6
outbreak
188 3.5
cluster
210 3.1

Surface Forms

epidemic singular
epidemics plural

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.