Incidence: meaning, definitions and examples

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incidence

 

[ ˈɪnsɪd(ə)ns ]

Noun
Context #1 | Noun

medical term

The occurrence, rate, or frequency of a disease, crime, or other undesirable thing.

Synonyms

frequency, occurrence, prevalence

Examples of usage

  • The incidence of COVID-19 cases has been increasing in recent weeks.
  • The incidence of heart disease is higher in men than in women.
Context #2 | Noun

statistics

The number of new cases of a particular disease or condition during a specific time period.

Synonyms

occurrence, prevalence, rate

Examples of usage

  • The incidence of diabetes in the population has risen sharply in the last decade.
  • The incidence of malaria is highest in tropical regions.
Context #3 | Noun

general

The way in which light or electromagnetic radiation falls upon a surface.

Synonyms

exposure, illumination, impact

Examples of usage

  • The angle of incidence affects the amount of light that is reflected off a surface.
  • The incidence of sunlight on the solar panels is crucial for power generation.

Translations

Translations of the word "incidence" in other languages:

🇵🇹 incidência

🇮🇳 घटना

🇩🇪 Inzidenz

🇮🇩 insidensi

🇺🇦 інцидент

🇵🇱 incydent

🇯🇵 発生率

🇫🇷 incidence

🇪🇸 incidencia

🇹🇷 olay

🇰🇷 발생률

🇸🇦 حدوث

🇨🇿 incidence

🇸🇰 incidencia

🇨🇳 发生率

🇸🇮 incidenca

🇮🇸 tilvik

🇰🇿 оқиға

🇬🇪 ინციდენტი

🇦🇿 insident

🇲🇽 incidencia

Etymology

The word 'incidence' originated from the Latin word 'incidentia', which means 'a falling upon or happening'. It first appeared in English in the 16th century. Over time, 'incidence' has evolved to encompass various meanings related to the occurrence or frequency of events, particularly in medical and statistical contexts. The term is widely used in epidemiology, public health, and physics to describe the rate or occurrence of specific phenomena.

See also: incident, incidental, incidentally, incidents.

Word Frequency Rank

Ranking #3,746, this word is part of upper-intermediate vocabulary. While not among the most basic terms, it appears often enough to be valuable for advanced communication.