pestilence

noun pes·ti·lence \ ˈpe-stə-lən(t)s \

Definition of pestilence

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

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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 of pestilence from the Web

When the intensifying debate brought a pestilence of armed neo-Nazis to the city, the mayor failed to issue a forceful denunciation.

— michael stein, New Republic, "Democrats Deserve Better Than Mitch Landrieu," 24 Aug. 2017
While droughts and pestilence often threatened disaster, joblessness was no part of then-rural America.

— edward l. glaeser, National Review, "The War on Work — and How to End It," 1 Aug. 2017
Verdict: the audio gods will not rain pestilence and red ink down upon Master & Dynamic.

— rene chun, WIRED, "Review: Master & Dynamic MA770," 12 July 2017
But there were other forces at work: war, fire, pestilence, and the cartographer’s pen.

— weston williams, The Christian Science Monitor, "'History of a Disappearance' tells the story of a once vibrant Polish town," 1 July 2017
Despite studies revealing a litany of filthier items — money, cell phones, child car seats, refillable water bottles — the popular perception is that toilets are germ-spewing fountains of pestilence.

— rachel linhart, Good Housekeeping, "Confessions of an Unabashed Toilet Seat Sitter," 19 June 2017
Perfect weather for all manner of pestilence and blight.

— bonnie blodgett, Twin Cities, "Blundering Gardener: This week’s worry? Bugs and blight," 17 June 2017
This week’s first cause for alarm is pestilence, aka bugs.

— bonnie blodgett, Twin Cities, "Blundering Gardener: This week’s worry? Bugs and blight," 17 June 2017
A lineage that somehow survived storms and disease, war and pestilence, love and hate, generation after generation.

— bill weir, CNN, "My family tree, split by Trump," 9 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pestilence.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.