Dictionary
con•ta•gion
Pronunciation: (kun-tā'jun), [key]—
n.
1. the communication of disease by direct or indirect contact.
2. a disease so communicated.
3. the medium by which a contagious disease is transmitted.
4. harmful or undesirable contact or influence.
5. the ready transmission or spread as of an idea or emotion from person to person:
a contagion of fear. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.