as in defect
something that spoils the appearance or completeness of a thing
the expanding urban sprawl is a blight on the countryside
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to damage
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of blight
Kevin Lozano, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
If not by fire, then by blight, addicts, fraud, and the slow rot created by corrupt politicians like Karen Bass.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 2 June 2026
Robert A. Cronkleton
march 5, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2026
Public opinion has also soured against encampments and blight in recent years, fueling election promises of faster solutions to homelessness.
—Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for blight
Noun
After moving back to the city at twenty-seven, Goetz became obsessed with local blight, and racial animus came to dominate his worldview.
—Kevin Lozano, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
If not by fire, then by blight, addicts, fraud, and the slow rot created by corrupt politicians like Karen Bass.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 2 June 2026
Verb
Stepped in to prevent food desert Concerned that closure would again blight the area and re‑create a food desert, CBKC entered negotiations to acquire the grocery operation and assume Lipari Brothers’ lease.
—Robert A. Cronkleton
march 5, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2026
Public opinion has also soured against encampments and blight in recent years, fueling election promises of faster solutions to homelessness.
—Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for blight
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blight
Noun
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Bangladesh’s ThreadBridge is applying AI directly to factory floors through smart glasses that detect fabric defects in real time, helping manufacturers reduce waste before garments reach the cutting stage.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
8 June 2026
-
These defects propagate through the device layers, degrading electron mobility, increasing leakage current, and shortening device reliability lifetimes.—
Aditya Jadhav,
Interesting Engineering,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
The quake damaged buildings and infrastructure in the southern Philippines.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
Earlier in the month, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport, killing one person and wounding dozens.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
7 June 2026
Noun
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The sides may be mottled with brown blotches.—
Ken Perrotte,
Outdoor Life,
4 June 2026
-
Their bodies vary in color from light to dark gray, have rows of black or charcoal blotches running along them and have a reddish-brown stripe running down the middle of their backs.—
Sarah Perkel,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Years earlier, in 2001, the undercover detective involved claimed her career had been ruined by the case, and received around $166,000 in an out-of-court settlement, per the BBC.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
7 June 2026
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Think about it the next time a presidential rant ruins your coffee.—
Steven Andreasen,
Twin Cities,
7 June 2026
Noun
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Deputies said that the girl was seen with several marks and scars that were consistent with those claims.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
-
Deputies went to the woman’s house in the 700 block of Northwest 81st Street Saturday morning for a welfare check and found the girl with scars and marks on her body, according to the arrest report of her mother, 27-year-old Naseline Timouche.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
8 June 2026
Verb
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And during electrical outages, on-site diesel generators kick in, releasing large amounts of air pollution that can harm data center employees and nearby residents alike.—
Ed Maibach,
The Conversation,
8 June 2026
-
No human journalist was harmed in this experiment.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Aliso Niguel senior Jaslene Massey had the top marks in the girls shot put (51-3¾) and discus (175-6) and transgender athlete AB Hernandez from Jurupa Valley was the leading qualifier in the girls long jump (20-5½) and triple jump (41-8½) and was one of 13 qualifiers in the high jump.—
Steve Galluzzo,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
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The Red Sox entered the weekend last in the AL East with a 23-32 record and a 9-19 mark at Fenway Park.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
Authorities often dispensed empty promises that projects would be replaced with better structures, ones less vulnerable to crime, damp and black mold, and not flawed by the kind of dangerous cost-cutting construction that led to London’s Grenfell Tower burning down in 2017, killing 72 people.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
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This process is flawed and it can be changed.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blight.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blight. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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