blight

1 of 2

noun

ˈblīt 

1

botany

a

: a disease or injury of plants marked by the formation of lesions, withering, and death of parts (such as leaves and tubers)

potato blight

b

: an organism (such as an insect or a fungus) that causes blight

2

: something that frustrates plans or hopes

the blight of poverty

an abandoned factory that was a blight on the neighborhood

3

: something that impairs or destroys

… censorship … has brought under its blight Ireland's greatest poets, dramatists, and scholars.

—Paul Blanshard

4

: a deteriorated condition

urban blight

blight

2 of 2

verb

blighted; blighting; blights

transitive verb

1

botany : to affect (a plant) with a disease or injury marked by the formation of lesions, withering, and death of parts (such as leaves and tubers) : to affect with blight (see blight entry 1 sense 1)

The apple trees were blighted by fungus.

2

: to impair the quality or effect of

… the condition that has blighted his son's life.

—Patricia Guthrie

intransitive verb

botany : to suffer from or become affected with blight

The potatoes blighted.

Synonyms of blight

Noun

• defect
• blotch
• scar
• mark

Examples of blight in a Sentence

Noun

the city's spreading urban blight

the expanding urban sprawl is a blight on the countryside

Verb

Builders blighted the land with malls and parking lots.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

At its height nearly 20 years ago, India’s leader described the Maoists as the country’s biggest internal security threat, a blight on its status as the world’s largest democracy and its aspirations of becoming a global power. —Dhruv Tikekar, CNN Money, 30 May 2026

The church and its pastor, Curtiss Ostosh, say ongoing blight, zoning, and parking violations have gone too far. —Hannah McIlree, CBS News, 28 May 2026

Verb

But its popularity didn’t spread beyond the northern Spanish city until the domestic unrest that had blighted the Basque region dissipated in the 2010s. —Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 1 June 2026

The spice, when used alongside other smart measures, like spacing out your plants and rotating crops, can help prevent rust from blighting your flowers. —Michelle Mastro, The Spruce, 23 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

of obscure origin

Verb

verbal derivative of blight entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1695, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing blight

• chestnut blight
• fire blight
• late blight
• potato blight

Rhymes for blight

• bight
• bite
• byte
• cite
• dight
• fight
• fite
• flight
• fright
• height
• hight
• kite

Kids Definition

blight

1 of 2 noun

ˈblīt 

1

a

: a disease of plants marked by withering and death of parts (as leaves)

b

: an organism that causes blight

2

a

: something that harms or destroys

b

: a damaged or worsened condition

urban blight

blight

2 of 2 verb

1

: to affect with blight

2

: to damage or worsen the quality or condition of

slums and blighted areas

3

: to suffer from or become affected with blight

Medical Definition

blight

noun

ˈblīt 

Australian

: an inflammation of the eye in which the eyelids discharge a thick mucous substance that often seals them up for days and minute granular pustules develop inside the lid

called also sandy blight