Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing
Endemic
adjective / noun
/ en-DEM-ik /
Medium
Meaning
Native and restricted to a particular geographic region; or a disease regularly found at stable levels within a community (as distinct from epidemic/pandemic)
Origin / Etymology
Greek endemos — native (en = in + demos = people/land)
Synonyms
Native
Indigenous
Local (species)
Resident (disease)
Antonyms
Exotic
Invasive
Cosmopolitan (species)
Epidemic (disease)
Example Sentence
"The Pygmy Hog is endemic to the grasslands of Manas National Park — found nowhere else in the wild except the Brahmaputra plains of Assam."
🎯 UPSC Usage
Critical distinction: endemic (always present at steady levels) vs. epidemic (sharp rise in cases) vs. pandemic (global spread). In biodiversity: endemic species have extreme conservation value because their extinction means global extinction. Frequently tested in Prelims (endemic species of Western Ghats, Andaman Islands). In health: COVID-19 transition to endemic status is a recurring current affairs theme.
Relevant Subjects