pestilence

American  

[pes-tl-uhns] / ˈpɛs tl əns /

noun

1. a deadly or virulent epidemic disease.

2. bubonic plague.

3. something that is considered harmful, destructive, or evil.

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pestilence British  

/ ˈpɛstɪləns /

noun

1. 1. any epidemic outbreak of a deadly and highly infectious disease, such as the plague

   2. such a disease

2. an evil influence or idea

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Other Word Forms

• antipestilence adjective

Etymology

Origin of pestilence

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin pestilentia, from pestilent-, stem of pestilēns “unhealthy, noxious” ( see pestilent) + -ia -y ³ ( def. )

Explanation

Pestilence means a deadly and overwhelming disease that affects an entire community. The Black Plague, a disease that killed over thirty percent of Europe's population, was certainly a pestilence. Pestilence is also one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation (which is part of The Bible). When pestilence rides into town, you want to be somewhere far, far away. Whereas a person gets the flu, a nation experiences a pestilence. A disease that causes widespread crop damage or animal deaths can also be called a pestilence.

Example Sentences

Invasive species came in all guises: foreign pestilence, foreign capital, and the developers.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

We can expect economic upheaval, famine and pestilence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

Every time she opens her mouth I swear a swarm of horseflies and pestilence are released to consume the countryside.

From Salon • Nov. 28, 2025

There’s anguish in his eyes, and when Del Toro shows us the world through his perspective, humanity itself appears anti-life, a pestilence that destroys without hesitation.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025

When the chamber was clean, Madam told me to open the windows again and let them stand open all afternoon to make sure there was no lingering pestilence in the air.

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson