infest

as in to plague
to spread or swarm over in a troublesome manner in desperation, we called in an exterminator because the house was infested with ants

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of infest At a time when division is high and negativity seems to be infesting every corner of people’s day-to-day lives, Lake Street Dive have instead chosen to go down a path of positivity. Dave Gil De Rubio, Oc Register, 25 June 2025 These rodents can infest all aspects of a home, including the shed, garage, attic, or even lawnmowers, automobiles, and barbecue grills. Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 June 2025 Xenophobia has always colored this nation’s past crackdowns on immigration legal and not, but the Golden State became a noxious cauldron whose anti-immigrant fumes have infested Americans in a way not seen in a century. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2025 Radishes are another cabbage relative that can be infested by problematic pests like aphids and flea beetles. Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for infest
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infest
Verb
  • With water crises increasingly plaguing other areas of the country, Central Arkansas is positioning itself as a destination for sustainable economic growth.
    arkansasonline.com, arkansasonline.com, 11 July 2025
  • Kobe Bufkin, Hawks The rare third-year player showing up at summer league, Bufkin had a rough summer in his 2023 rookie season and has been plagued by injuries ever since, only appearing in 27 games over his first two seasons.
    John Hollinger, New York Times, 10 July 2025
Verb
  • Swimmer's itch is a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to microscopic parasites that infect some birds and mammals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 11 July 2025
  • Season 2 of The Last of Us finds Joel (Pedro Pascal) not only fending off humans infected with the Cordyceps virus, but other survivors seeking revenge on Joel for his past actions.
    Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025
Verb
  • Would powerful cities like New York and Chicago overrun states without large industrial centers?
    Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025
  • Protestors argue the city is being overrun with tourism while steadily depopulating, and needs public services and housing, not VIPs and over-tourism.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • In particular, website owners and SEO experts wanted to know how Cloudflare planned to block Google's bot from scraping sites to fuel AI overviews without risking blocking the same bot from crawling for valuable search engine placements.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 9 July 2025
  • Both are unable, under any circumstances, to resist crawling under someone doing a downward-facing dog.
    Erika Sjule, New Yorker, 8 July 2025
Verb
  • This can overwhelm analysts and lead to alert fatigue.
    Bhupendra Singh, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • Among other things, a lack of staff hampered the State Emergency Response Team’s ability to maintain a 24-hour operation that was supposed to support local and county officials who were overwhelmed by the massive storm.
    Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 27 June 2025

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“Infest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infest. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.

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