contagious vs virulent

contagious

adj
  • Having a disease that can be transmitted to another person. 

  • Easily transmitted to others. 

  • Easily passed on to others. 

virulent

adj
  • Of a disease or disease-causing agent: malignant, able to cause damage to the host. 

  • Of a pathogen: replicating within its host cell, then immediately causing it to undergo lysis. 

  • Extremely hostile or malicious; intensely acrimonious. 

  • Of animals, plants, or substances: extremely venomous or poisonous. 

How often have the words contagious and virulent occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )