contagious
adjective /kənˈteɪdʒəs/
/kənˈteɪdʒəs/
- a contagious disease spreads by close contact between people
- Scarlet fever is highly contagious.
- (figurative) His enthusiasm was contagious (= spread quickly to other people).
- a contagious laugh
- The new disease proved contagious.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- become
- prove
- …
- highly
- very
- [not usually before noun] if a person is contagious, they have a disease that can be spread by close contact with other peopleOxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
- be
- become
- prove
- …
- highly
- very
compare infectious
Word Originlate Middle English: from late Latin contagiosus, from contagio, from con- ‘together with’ + the base of tangere ‘to touch’.