What does transmissible mean?
Transmissible is a formal adjective meaning that something can be passed or carried from one person, organism, or context to another. Its most familiar use is medical: a transmissible disease, infection, or virus is one that can be transmitted from one host to another, directly or indirectly. More broadly, the word can describe information, signals, or ideas capable of being communicated. The term is more technical and less everyday than “infectious” or “contagious,” especially when describing pathogens, and it may suggest the possibility of transmission rather than its likelihood or severity. In public-health writing, “transmissible” is often paired with words such as “disease” and “infection,” while “highly transmissible” emphasizes ease of spread. The word is useful because it describes the capacity for something to travel while leaving the particular mechanism or degree open. It belongs primarily to formal scientific, medical, and informational contexts rather than casual speech.
adjectiveAble to be transmitted or passed on from one person, organism, or context to another, especially through infection.
- Capable of being transmitted from one person or organism to another, especially as a pathogen or disease.
- Capable of being passed on or communicated, as information, signals, or ideas.
"The disease is transmissible through close contact with an infected person."
"Researchers warned that the newly identified virus was transmissible through respiratory droplets."
"The signal was transmissible across long distances, allowing the message to reach the receiving station intact."
From the Latin words for “send across,” transmissible describes what can travel—whether a virus, a signal, or an idea.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does transmissible come from?
Transmissible comes through Latin from transmittere, “to send across,” composed of trans- (“across”) and mittere (“to send”). The Latin adjective transmissibilis meant “that may be sent or passed on.” English developed the word in the early modern period, when it was used for the passing on of disease as well as other effects. The same Latin root underlies transmit, transmission, and transmitter, while the English derivative transmissibility names the quality of being transmissible.
Related word forms
How transmissible is actually used
Formal and technical, especially in medicine, epidemiology, and public health. It can also be applied more broadly to information, signals, or ideas, but it is less common in everyday conversation than words such as “infectious” or “spread.”
Easily confused with transmissible
Both can mean capable of being sent or passed along, but transmissible is especially established in medical usage, while transmittable is often chosen for messages, signals, or information.