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
  • After the great lift drama of 2026, Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba proposes a new solution to the problem plaguing pros trying to add pizzazz to their routines.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The extraordinary extent of Edward’s absorption in Nighthawks suggests that the painting was a product of exceptional, almost obsessive focus, with little of the typical delays or doubts plaguing its genesis.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of plaguing
Verb
  • On thinner material, that gives you a fighting chance at keeping heat and warpage under control without crawling along at a miserable pace.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Prior to then, traffic was seen crawling on the eastbound side of the bridge heading into the city.
    — Jeff Capellini, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of crawling
Verb
  • The disease is now even infecting people in remote villages in the Amazon, Freitas says, and has emerged in other countries too.
    — Dominique Mosbergen, Time, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Produced by Yara Goubran) When a mysterious epidemic begins infecting women in a remote fishing village, fear quickly turns the community against them.
    — Essie Assibu, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of infecting
Verb
  • Bots are overrunning the web, with some executives forecasting a world in which autonomous traffic outnumbers human internet searchers 1,000-to-1.
    — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • 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
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 1 Nov. 2026.

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