pestilence
8
9.7
- noun
- /ˈpɛstɪləns/
- Literature
:
flagelo
- His presence was like a pestilence that turned the area into death.
He says that flattery makes itself a stumbling block, and pestilence and great houses and great affairs.
- He says that flattery makes itself a stumbling block, and pestilence and great houses and great affairs.
Examples
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In China and India conditions are chaotic... as riots and pestilence sweep the land.
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Communities formed cooperatives to combat the pestilence that threatened their livelihoods and health.
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There is a pestilence upon this land.
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Why doesn't he stop the pestilence?
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Pestilence and disease are the final metaphors for the ravages of sin on a community.
Academic text (2004) -
The real world, where elections are held, is a wild beast—war, pestilence, famine, unemployment...
Blog text (8) -
The recent outbreak of pestilence spread rapidly, leading to widespread fear among the population.
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Efforts to eradicate the pestilence have been hampered by political instability and lack of resources.
Synonyms
2
9.3
A harmful problem that slowly eats away at people or groups
Antonyms
How Harmful
Surface Forms
Morphology
pestilence = pestilent (semi-transparent) = pestil + ence
The morphological formation itself is not transparently analysable by learners, even though the noun 'pestilence' is semantically extended metaphorically.
Etymology
Pestilence comes from the Latin pestis, 'plague', and links to the English word pest, meaning a harmful or annoying thing. So calling corruption or hate a pestilence suggests it spreads like a disease and is hard to remove.