infesting

verb

present participle of infest
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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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 infesting Good property maintenance and natural and safe methods can get rid of chiggers and prevent them from infesting your space. — Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 22 July 2026 To prevent the New World Screwworm from infesting Florida, the state is blocking rescue dogs and cats coming from Texas and New Mexico. — Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 12 June 2026 The moths infesting a pantry are not the same as moths hiding in your closet. — Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 13 May 2026 No one wants mice moving into their home or infesting their garden. — Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026 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
  1. plaguing
  2. crawling
  3. infecting
  4. overrunning
Verb
  • That is the question plaguing university leaders across the country, and nowhere is the debate raging more fiercely these days than at the University of California.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Warren’s attempt to suppress the procession exemplifies the sort of religious prejudices plaguing Italian communities during that period.
    — Clare Whitton, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of plaguing
Verb
  • Introduced crawling through the Trask family’s field, her black blood spattering their rich soil like a human pesticide, Cathy personifies the series’ potent blend of dread and beauty.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2026
  • But centering a nearly dead Cathy Ames (Florence Pugh) is Kazan’s entire intention with this project, and snagging us with the image of her bloody body crawling toward the Trasks’ farmhouse is a tip of the hand toward where East of Eden is going.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of crawling
Verb
  • Wardle found that a simple variation of ClickFix attack—a technique that has become remarkably effective in tricking people into infecting their devices—is all that’s required for an attacker to take control of a Muse account.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026
  • That includes Memory Integrity protection, which uses hardware-dependent methods to prevent malware from infecting OS processes.
    — Chris Hoffman, PC Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of infecting
Verb
  • While the cause of Sunday’s crash is still under investigation, Miami International Airport lacks a key safety feature that might have prevented the aircraft from overrunning the airport property and reaching a roadway, aviation experts said.
    — Maria Aguilar Prieto, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The requirement was prompted by American Airlines Flight 1420 overrunning a runway at Little Rock National Airport in Arkansas in 1999, killing nine.
    — David Fischer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of overrunning

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Cite this Entry

“Infesting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infesting. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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