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Glite Dictionary
plague pneumonia

plague pneumonia

8.6
A severe lung infection caused by bacteria that spreads through the air and often kills people
  • noun
  • /pleɪɡ nuˈmoʊniə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : neumonía de la peste
  • If not treated promptly, plague pneumonia can lead to severe respiratory failure.

Examples

  • The rapid transmission of plague pneumonia makes it particularly dangerous in crowded conditions.

  • If left untreated, plague pneumonia can quickly become fatal.

  • Doctors identified plague pneumonia in several patients during the outbreak.

  • The outbreak of plague pneumonia was alarming.

  • Doctors are concerned about plague pneumonia spreading.

  • During the recent outbreak, doctors confirmed cases of plague pneumonia in multiple patients.

  • The ability of plague pneumonia to spread rapidly in the air poses a significant public health threat.

Synonyms

pneumonic plague
vsplague pneumonia
  • Specialized
1 9.2

A serious lung infection that spreads between people through the air

focuses on rapid progression and general airborne spread rather than symptom specifics
pulmonic plague
vsplague pneumonia
  • Specialized
8.9

A fast, often deadly lung infection that spreads through the air between people

is the same condition but worded differently without symptom detail

Surface Forms

plague pneumonia singular
plague pneumonias plural

Morphology

plague + pneumonia

The phrase combines two medical nouns whose meanings directly compose: 'plague' (a severe infectious disease) + 'pneumonia' (lung infection) yields a lung form of plague. This follows ordinary English noun–noun compounding used in medical terms, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended severe pulmonary manifestation.

Etymology

Plague pneumonia comes from the words plague (a deadly disease that can sweep through a town) and pneumonia (an infection of the lungs). In past outbreaks the plague sometimes reached the lungs so people coughed and spread the illness through the air, making it very fast and often fatal, so the term means 'a severe, quickly spreading lung form of the plague'.