as in plagued
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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Recent Examples of infested
The Greenland situation reminds me of a story about a bunch of South American cowboys pushing a herd toward a creek known to be infested with piranhas.
—
Arkansas Online, 27 Jan. 2026
The tiny hayloft would later become infested with lice and vermin.
—Edie Kasten, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
Typically, these pests get into our homes by purchasing products that were infested at the store, warehouse or production facility.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 25 Jan. 2026
If trees are lightly or not-yet infested, they can be sprayed or injected with insecticides.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2026
It was also infested with hookworms, according to the report.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
Housing advocates were beating the drum over tenant protections, lamenting a lack of enforcement from city regulators as residents lived in buildings without heat and hot water, or their units were infested with cockroaches and bed bugs.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 8 Jan. 2026
The ways in which houses can be infested by unclean spirits are varied.
—Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
If the ducts seem infested with insects, rodents, or other pests, they should be cleaned and might need to be treated by a professional exterminator to eliminate an infestation.
—Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Dec. 2025
Arkansas Online, 27 Jan. 2026
The tiny hayloft would later become infested with lice and vermin.
—Edie Kasten, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
Typically, these pests get into our homes by purchasing products that were infested at the store, warehouse or production facility.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 25 Jan. 2026
If trees are lightly or not-yet infested, they can be sprayed or injected with insecticides.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2026
It was also infested with hookworms, according to the report.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
Housing advocates were beating the drum over tenant protections, lamenting a lack of enforcement from city regulators as residents lived in buildings without heat and hot water, or their units were infested with cockroaches and bed bugs.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 8 Jan. 2026
The ways in which houses can be infested by unclean spirits are varied.
—Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
If the ducts seem infested with insects, rodents, or other pests, they should be cleaned and might need to be treated by a professional exterminator to eliminate an infestation.
—Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infested
Verb
-
And the Rams were unable to overcome a special teams miscue, a theme that plagued them throughout the season.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Rodman was plagued by injury in 2025, using the first half of the year to recover from a lingering back issue.—
Melanie Anzidei,
New York Times,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The two health workers infected in India’s eastern state of West Bengal in late December are being treated in hospital, local authorities have said.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Mergers have crawled since 2021 and were finally expected to rebound last year.—
Luisa Beltran,
Sportico.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The young man belly-crawled on the ice to reach the panicked dog and pulled the animal out of the water, according to the outlet.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Ketter said the volume of traffic temporarily overwhelmed DreamHaven's website.—
Nick Lunemann,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The company said the influx briefly overwhelmed its servers.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Infested.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infested. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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