Choose the correct one word substitution : A disease that spreads over a large area.

Right Answer: epidemic

A one word substitution replaces a long descriptive phrase with a single precise word. A disease that spreads rapidly over a large area and affects a great number of people at the same time is called an epidemic; when it spreads across countries it becomes a pandemic. The other options carry entirely different meanings: 'effeminate' means womanish in manner, 'germicide' is a substance that kills germs, and 'illicit' means forbidden or unlawful. None of these describes a widespread disease. Hence the correct answer is epidemic.