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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
Environment Science Tech
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