contagion
/kənˈteɪd͡ʒən/noun
contagion is spelled C-O-N-T-A-G-I-O-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, contagion means “A disease spread by contact” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of contagion is contagions.
How many letters and syllables are in contagion?
| Letters | 9: C-O-N-T-A-G-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,820th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is contagion?
Contagion appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce contagion?
- /kənˈteɪd͡ʒən/
Contagion has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-contagion.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of contagion
- contagions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does contagion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A disease spread by contact.
- 2
The spread or transmission of such a disease.
- 3
The passing on of manners or behaviour through a closed community or household.
- 4
The spread of (initially small) shocks, which initially affect only a few financial institutions or a particular region of an economy, to other financial sectors and other countries whose economies were previously healthy.
- 5
A recession or crisis developed in such manner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Contagion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | contagion |
| German | ansteckende Krankheit , Ansteckung |
| Portuguese | contágio |
| Spanish | contagio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does contagion come from?
From Middle English (late 14th century), from Old French, from Latin contāgiō (“a touching, contact, contagion”) related to contingō (“touch closely”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).