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Glite Dictionary
infestation

infestation

32 5.7
A large number of unwanted insects or animals living in a place and causing damage
  • noun
  • /ˌɪnfəˈsteɪʃən/
: 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
77 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
6 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
1 4.8

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

How Infested

plague
6 5.6
infestation
32 5.7
outbreak
194 3.5
presence
6 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.