Master confusing words with ease
Infectious vs. Contagious
Infectious
/ɪnˈfekʃəs/Examples:
Laughter is infectious, spreading smiles across the room.The enthusiasm of the team was totally infectious.Her creativity is infectious, inspiring everyone around her.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Contagious
/kənˈteɪdʒəs/Examples:
Her enthusiasm for the project was contagious.Laughter can often be surprisingly contagious.Yawns are known to be incredibly contagious.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
This word has no antonymsWays to tell them apart:
- Infectious often relates to the nature of a disease and its ability to enter and multiply in a host or spread, whereas contagious focuses more on the ease with which a disease is passed from person to person.
- Contagious diseases require direct or indirect contact to spread, like touching or breathing the same air, while infectious encompasses a broader range, including those transmitted through vectors like mosquitoes.
- To remember: All contagious diseases are infectious, but not all infectious diseases are contagious.
- Infectious can also encompass non-contagious diseases, like food poisoning or tetanus, which are contracted but not passed from person to person.
- Contagious is more about the social aspect of disease spread, i.e., how one should act to prevent passing the disease to others.
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