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Glite Dictionary
infestation

infestation

35 5.7
A large number of unwanted insects or animals living in a place and causing damage
  • noun
  • /ˌɪnfəˈsteɪʃən/
translation icon : infestación
  • The landlord was notified about the rat infestation in the basement.
  • pest infestation
  • insect infestation
  • mite infestation

So for example, we had a full Ant infestation in our kitchen.

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Examples

  • The three scientists have seen serious fire ant infestations before, in the United States.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The pest infestation monitor is reading critical.

    Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

  • And when I came home, I had an Ant infestation in my house.

  • So for example, we had a full Ant infestation in our kitchen.

    The Useless Hotline Podcast

  • I mean, it was such a bad infestation that I'd catch a rat and it would get eaten before I got there.

    Theo Von

  • They had a really bad black mold infestation in their home.

    The Minimalists

  • Several years of repeated spraying are often needed to bring an infestation under control.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The consequences can be grave: a heavy infestation of mites can kill a fly in a few days.

    Academic text (2000)

  • For months at a time, the family has withstood plague-like infestations by termites, rats, silverfish, snakes, and carpenter ants.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • We discovered a severe infestation of cockroaches in the kitchen last week.

Synonyms

invasion
vsinfestation
52 4.2

A sudden large group of animals or people entering a place

is a settled presence of pests causing damage rather than the act of entering
plague
vsinfestation
11 5.6

A large group of insects that destroy crops and plants

is a broader presence of pests in any place not only crop attacks

Compounds

flea infestation
4.8

A large number of fleas living on an animal that cause itching and can make it sick

How Infested

plague
11 5.6
infestation
35 5.7
outbreak
188 3.5
presence
108 4.9

Surface Forms

infestation singular
infestations plural

Morphology

infestation = infest (transparent) = infest + ation

Standard nominalization from the verb 'infest' using the productive suffix '-ation', yielding the state or action of being infested.

Etymology

The word infestation comes from the verb infest, which means 'to fill a place with unwanted animals or pests'. That idea of 'attack' or 'trouble' helps explain why an infestation is a large, harmful group of pests in one place.