pestilence

noun

pes·​ti·​lence ˈpe-stə-lən(t)s 

1

: a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating

especially : bubonic plague

2

: something that is destructive or pernicious

I'll pour this pestilence into his ear …

—William Shakespeare

Synonyms of pestilence

• plague

Examples of pestilence in a Sentence

After years of war and pestilence, few people remained in the city.

the fear that terrorists could unleash a pestilence that would wreak unspeakable havoc

Recent Examples on the Web

As famine, war, pestilence and death galloped through, religious thought had been taking on an apocalyptic and self-abnegatory fervor. — Literary Hub, 30 July 2026

The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. — Kim Crooks Korinek, Christian Science Monitor, 18 May 2026

Some of those tombstones explicitly referred to a pestilence as the cause of death. — Marc Zimmer, The Conversation, 12 May 2026

Parks turned into deserts, great skyscrapers leveled by blows from the tails of the monsters, and the entire population threatened in the panic and pestilence that followed the invasion. — Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pestilence

noun

pes·​ti·​lence ˈpes-tə-lən(t)s 

: a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that spreads quickly and is often fatal

especially : bubonic plague

Medical Definition

pestilence

noun

pes·​ti·​lence ˈpes-tə-lən(t)s 

: a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating

specifically : bubonic plague