Meanings
- colloquialderogatoryoffensivesometimesuncountableSynonym of coronavirus, the disease COVID-19.
The Wuhan virus isn’t the only pandemic to come from China.
2020 May 13, New York Post3 more examples
This new “Wuhan virus” outbreak in China, which appears to be due to a novel coronavirus, is another warning to us about the need for more research in infectious diseases, epidemiology and control measures.
2020 January 11, Judy Stone, “Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak Shows The Importance Of Sound Science, Sleuthing, And Cooperation”, in ForbesOne of the 46, the man's 37-year-old son, is another confirmed case of the Wuhan virus.
2020 January 25, “No new cases of Wuhan virus, 64 suspected cases so far: MOH”, in Channel News Asia, archived from the original on 27 Jan 2020Former United States President Donald Trump is being sued by a Chinese American civil rights group over his use of the terms “Chinese virus”, “Wuhan virus” and “Kung Flu virus” during the coronavirus pandemic.
[2021 May 21, “Chinese American group sues Trump for calling COVID ‘China virus’”, in Al JazeeraSynonyms: coronavirus
- colloquialderogatoryoffensivesometimesuncountableSynonym of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Stop the Wuhan virus
2020 January 21, Nature, volume 577, →DOI, page 4502 more examples
We designed candidate diagnostic RT-PCR assays before release of the first sequence of the Wuhan virus.
2020 January 13, World Health Organization, "Diagnostic detection of Wuhan coronavirus 2019 by real-time RT-PCR"The Wuhan virus has shown the world how China behaves.
2020 December 4, James McGrath on Sky Newshttps://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6214144246001Synonyms: SARS-CoV-2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of coronavirus, the disease COVID-19.
nounSynonym of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
nounSynonym of A/Wuhan/359/95, a strain of H3N2 influenza.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna viral disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that caused a global pandemic in 2020
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From Wuhan + virus, q.v., from its presumed origin in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. The same name was separately and less prominently used in 1995 for a strain of H3N2 flu.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Wuhan virus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wuhan%20virus
“Wuhan virus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wuhan%20virus. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wuhan virus,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wuhan%20virus.
Source: Wuhan virus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.