white plague
- noun
- /waɪt pleɪg/
- NSFW
:
plaga blanca
- Support groups are essential for those trying to overcome the challenges of the white plague.
Examples
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His struggle with the white plague caused him to lose everything he cared about.
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His battle with the white plague nearly destroyed his family.
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Many communities were devastated by the spread of the white plague in the early 20th century.
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The documentary explores the social impact of the white plague on urban neighborhoods.
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Many people are affected by the white plague in urban areas.
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The white plague is often linked to poverty.
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The city faced a crisis as the white plague swept through the population, leaving families in despair.
Synonyms
34
2.8
Using illegal or harmful drugs too often so they harm a person's health and life
28
3.4
A long-lasting problem where someone cannot stop using drugs even though it harms them
5
5.8
A strong need for heroin that makes a person keep using it even when it harms them
A strong need to keep using the drug heroin
Surface Forms
Morphology
Knowing 'plague' signals an infectious disease and 'white' suggests pallor or wasting, so a learner could infer this refers to a type of disease with an association to paleness. However, the specific, historical reference to pulmonary tuberculosis is lexicalized and not directly predictable from the parts alone, so the relation is partial rather than fully transparent.
Etymology
White plague was later used for addiction to drugs like heroin or morphine because the drugs were often a white powder and the problem spread through towns like a plague, so the phrase came to mean 'addiction to a narcotic'.