Pestilence
WordNet
noun
(1) A pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of
"Racism is a pestilence at the heart of the nation"
"According to him, I was the canker in their midst"
(2) Any epidemic disease with a high death rate
(3) A serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
WiktionaryText
Etymology
< < < < ; see pestilent.
Noun
- Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating.
- 1949 - Bruce Kiskaddon, George R. Stewart Earth Abides
- The snowshoe-rabbits build up through the years until they reach a climax when the seem to be everywhere; then with dramatic suddenness their pestilence falls upon them.
- 1949 - Bruce Kiskaddon, George R. Stewart Earth Abides