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
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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
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
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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The scientists set out to investigate a debilitating and lethal parasite that’s been plaguing monarchs.—
Drew Kann,
AJC.com,
12 Jan. 2026
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Johnson was staring down an urgent mission to address the virus plaguing her children.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The country is crawling with hot springs and spa retreats, like the famed Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Jan. 2026
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My favorite space is the private balcony, crawling with green Spanish tile and bestowed with a bistro table and ashtray.—
Charlie Hobbs,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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It's revealed that this beauty drug is infecting people with a virus that leads to death, luring in an investigation by FBI Agents Cooper Madsen, played by Evan Peters, and Jordan Bennett, played by Rebecca Hall.—
Yamillah Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
5 Jan. 2026
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Set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, the Larian Studios RPG follows a party that seeks to cure themselves of a parasitic tadpole infecting their brains.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Russian forces seized the nuclear plant and its surrounding area in the early days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, overrunning the plant in February 2022 and holding staff hostage.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
6 Dec. 2025
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But using smaller rocks will not secure river banks from overrunning, said attorney Devon Lehman McCune during a hearing earlier this month in downtown federal court.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
21 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Infesting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infesting. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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