Corona Virus and the Explosion of New Words and Phrases Within the English Language

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an infectious, contagious or communicable disease which is spreading around the globe radically and rather dramatically. This is a stressful and worrisome time for everybody. This burning problem faced by the world today is being talked about by millions of people and it often leads to a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty.

With so many new words floating around, I thought of bringing some clarity to the commonly used terms related to the Coronavirus. So let’s get started with the key terms you’ve been hearing:

Outbreak: A sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as a war or a disease

Epidemic: An outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time

Pandemic: An outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population

Sentence: The WHO has declared coronavirus as a pandemic

An outbreak may become an epidemic if it spreads enough, and an epidemic may likewise, become a pandemic.

Community Spread: The spread of a disease within a community. Specifically, people living within an area may have become infected, including people who aren’t certain how or where they became infected. For example, they haven’t travelled to a country experiencing an outbreak.

Social Distancing: Staying away from other individuals, reducing face-to-face contact

Quarantine: Refraining from any contact for a period of time such as 2 weeks during the outbreak of a contagious disease, usually by remaining in one’s home and limiting contact with family members.

E.g.: The hospital quarantined the COVID-19 patients

Lockdown or Shutdown: Widespread restrictions disallowing free movement

E.g.: Half of humanity is under lockdown today

Now, let’s look at a few phrasal verbs used in relation to the current situation:

To stock up: Have an extra supply of food, medicines and other daily use items

To hoard: A negative word. It is to possess an excessive supply of things that you hide and keep to yourself whilst depriving others from having the same

Called for: PM Modi called for a shutdown and asked people not to flout the rules

Step up: The government has stepped up security measures and the supply of medicines

Hope this helps you engage in conversations around the COVID-19 situation. May we all emerge from this pandemic soon. Be well and stay safe!