Definition

1. Noun:
   • Malady of the times / Spirit of the age (in a negative sense): A negative social trend, moral failing, or widespread problem characteristic of a specific historical period or era. It refers to a collective societal or cultural "sickness."
   • Seasonal epidemic / Seasonal disease: An illness or epidemic that breaks out and spreads according to a particular season or weather pattern.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Social Malady):
  • Lối sống ích kỷ, vô cảm được coi là một thời bệnh của xã hội hiện đại. (Selfish and indifferent lifestyles are considered a malady of the times in modern society.)
  • Nhà văn đó thường phê phán những thời bệnh trong các tác phẩm của mình. (That writer often criticizes the maladies of the age in his works.)
• Noun (Seasonal Illness):
  • Cúm mùa là một thời bệnh phổ biến. (Seasonal flu is a common seasonal epidemic.)
  • Ngành y tế đang chuẩn bị ứng phó với các thời bệnh mùa hè. (The health sector is preparing to deal with summer seasonal diseases.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is formal and literary, more common in analytical, sociological, or historical writing than in everyday conversation.
• When used to mean "seasonal disease," it is a technical or formal term. The more common everyday phrase is "bệnh theo mùa."

Variants and Related Words

• Bệnh thời khí (n): A very close synonym, specifically meaning an illness caused by or prevalent in a particular seasonal climate.
• Bệnh dịch (n): Epidemic, plague. A more general term for a widespread disease.
• Tệ nạn xã hội (n): Social evil. A more direct and common term for negative social phenomena.

Synonyms

• Social Malady: Social ill, zeitgeist (negative connotation), spirit of the age.
• Seasonal Disease: Seasonal illness, seasonal epidemic.

Related Idioms

• Bệnh của thời đại: Literally "disease of the era." A near-identical phrase emphasizing a problem inherent to the current era.
  • Ô nhiễm thông tin có lẽ là bệnh của thời đại số. (Information pollution is perhaps the disease of the digital age.)