as in plaguing
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 infesting
The moths infesting a pantry are not the same as moths hiding in your closet.
—
Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2025
Spotted lanternflies have been infesting parts of the East Coast.
—Cate Martel, The Hill, 16 Oct. 2025
Quagga mussels and golden mussels, fingernail-sized invaders infesting California waterways, clog the water pumps and pipes responsible for distributing water to millions of people and vast stretches of farmland.
—Pam Marrone, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Aphids and Spider Mites These tiny, sap-sucking insects become more active in the fall, infesting flowering and fruiting plants.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2025
Spotted lanternflies have been infesting parts of the East Coast.
—Cate Martel, The Hill, 16 Oct. 2025
Quagga mussels and golden mussels, fingernail-sized invaders infesting California waterways, clog the water pumps and pipes responsible for distributing water to millions of people and vast stretches of farmland.
—Pam Marrone, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Aphids and Spider Mites These tiny, sap-sucking insects become more active in the fall, infesting flowering and fruiting plants.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infesting
Verb
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For example, funds could be used for road and tunnel construction to improve the flow of the river, addressing several public health issues plaguing the region.—
Susanne Rust
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
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One day after teams of federal agents flooded the MacArthur Park area in a sweeping drug enforcement operation, the neighboring Langer's Deli owner and other community members spoke out on issues plaguing the area.—
Julie Sharp,
CBS News,
7 May 2026
Verb
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Ahmed Moustafa, who operates a halal cart near Yankee Stadium, is still crawling out from the pandemic.—
Yuna Kim,
New York Daily News,
6 May 2026
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Detroit then went to Orlando and extended its hopes yet again — crawling out of a 24-point hole through a historic clampdown.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
5 May 2026
Verb
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The procedure, called variolation, involved deliberately infecting a soldier with a small amount of smallpox virus to build immunity.—
Katrine L. Wallace,
The Conversation,
28 Apr. 2026
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Interest in her field exploded in the late 1990s and again in the mid-aughts when the H5N1 bird flu virus began infecting and killing mass numbers of poultry in China and other parts of Southeast Asia — and infecting and killing some people as well.—
Helen Branswell,
STAT,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Then in 2021, the federal government, which manages polar bears, halted boat tours, mostly over concerns about how tourists were affecting bear behavior and overrunning the town.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
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In the fifth, Byron Buxton hit a double and was tagged out after overrunning the base.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Infesting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infesting. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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