epidemic, endemic, pandemic
- epidemic, endemic, pandemic
Strictly speaking, only people can suffer an epidemic (the word means "in or among peopie"). An outbreak of disease among animals is epizootic. It is also worth noting that epidemic refers only to outbreaks. When a disease or other problem is of long standing, it is endemic. Pandemic (meaning "all the people") is often vaguely defined in dictionaries. Strictly, it indicates only an unusually high level of infection. By this definition you could have a pandemic in a single locality. In practice, however, the word is usually reserved for outbreaks that are global or nearly so.
Dictionary of troublesome word.
Bill Bryson.
2013.
Look at other dictionaries:
epidemic, endemic — Endemic means peculiar to a given country or people ; in medicine, the term is applied to a disease characteristic of, or confined to, a particular locality: Malaria is endemic in certain warm, humid countries. Epidemic, much more often used,… … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
epidemic — 1. noun 1) an epidemic of typhoid Syn: outbreak, plague, pandemic, epizootic 2) a joyriding epidemic Syn: spate, rash, wave, eruption, outbreak, craze; flood, torrent; … Thesaurus of popular words
Endemic — Present in a community at all times but in relatively low frequency. Something that is endemic is typically restricted or peculiar to a locality or region. For example, malaria is endemic in some areas of Africa. And traffic in illicit drugs is… … Medical dictionary
Epidemic — More than the expected number of cases of disease occurring in a community or region during a given period of time. A sudden severe outbreak within a region or a group as, for example, AIDS in Africa or AIDS in intravenous drug users. By contrast … Medical dictionary
epidemic — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. disease, pestilence, plague, contamination. adj. pestilential, infectious, contagious; raging, rife, pandemic, ubiquitous. See generality. II (Roget s IV) n. Syn. plague, scourge, pestilence,… … English dictionary for students
epidemic — adj 1. prevalent, widespread, extensive, prevailing, predominant, pandemic; wide ranging, far reaching, general; rampant, sweeping, rife; endemic; epizootic. n 2. plague, pestilence, pest, disease, Obs. murrain; contagion, infection; endemic,… … A Note on the Style of the synonym finder
epidemic — n. a sudden outbreak of infectious disease that spreads rapidly through the population, affecting a large proportion of people. The commonest epidemics today are of influenza. Compare: endemic, pandemic Derivatives: epidemic adj … The new mediacal dictionary
epidemic — [adj] widespread catching, communicable, contagious, endemic, general, infectious, pandemic, prevailing, prevalent, rampant, rife, sweeping, wide ranging; concepts 314,537 Ant. limited epidemic [n] widespread disease contagion, endemic, growth,… … New thesaurus
Pandemic — An epidemic (a sudden outbreak) that becomes very widespread and affects a whole region, a continent, or the world. By contrast: {{}}An epidemic affects more than the expected number of cases of disease occurring in a community or region during a … Medical dictionary
Pandemic — A pandemic (from Greek παν pan all + δήμος demos people) is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through human populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide.DefinitionAccording to the World Health… … Wikipedia
