/ kənˈteɪdʒəs; NAmE / adjective
1.
a contagious disease spreads by people touching each other :
Scarlet fever is highly contagious.
( figurative )
His enthusiasm was contagious (= spread quickly to other people) .
a contagious laugh
2.
[ not usually before noun ] if a person is contagious , they have a disease that can be spread to other people by touch
—compare infectious
► con·ta·gious·ly adverb
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from late Latin contagiosus , from contagio , from con- together with + the base of tangere to touch.