coronavirus
2 synonyms for coronavirus, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — Any member of the Coronaviridae family of viruses, which infect animals and humans and carry a single strand of RNA as their genome.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use coronavirus
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
In general use since 2020, coronavirus on its own is usually understood to mean SARS-CoV-2 rather than the wider virus family.
Etymology
The word joins corona and virus. Corona comes from the Latin corona, meaning a garland, wreath or crown, which in turn traces back to an Ancient Greek word for something curved. The name was chosen because the virus, seen under an electron microscope, has a fringe of projections that looks like the corona of light arou...
Full origin of coronavirus →