A disease communicable by contact with a patient suffering from it or with some secretion of or object touched by, such a patient. Most such diseases have already been proved to be germ diseases, and their communicability depends on the transmission of the living germs. Many germ diseases are not contagious, some special method of transmission or inoculation of the germs being required.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). contagious disease. Retrieved September 27, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/contagious_disease/definitions/1990888 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "contagious disease" http://smartdefine.org/contagious_disease/definitions/1990888 (accessed September 27, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, contagious disease, Smart Define, viewed 27 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/contagious_disease/definitions/1990888>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "contagious disease" 27 May 2011. Web. 27 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/contagious_disease/definitions/1990888> |