infested

[ in-fes-tid ]

adjective

1. overrun to an unwanted degree or in a troublesome manner by predatory animals or vermin (often used in combination):

   It is so difficult to eradicate cockroaches from an infested area.

   The only unguarded way of escape was through an alligator-infested swamp.

2. filled or riddled with anything undesirable or troublesome (usually used in combination):

   The restaurant sat in an increasingly tourist-infested part of town.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of infest.

Other Words From

• un·in·fest·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of infested¹

First recorded in 1890–1900; infest ( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; infest ( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Australian researchers, who spent years towing seal-shaped decoys through waters infested with great white sharks, have determined that wrapping the lures in very bright lights — sort of like aquatic Christmas trees — seems to turn sharks away.

From Los Angeles Times

The most likely pathway for these pests to enter the state is by “hitchhiking” in fruits and vegetables brought back illegally by travelers as they return from infested regions of the world, or in packages of home-grown produce from other countries sent to California.

From Los Angeles Times

The fly species was first found in California in 1960 and has been reintroduced every year since 1966 by infested fruits and vegetables coming into the state.

From Los Angeles Times

My quest in Montana had tanked my health, opened my dreary eyes, infested my brain.

From Slate

In April the ex-president called immigrants “not human.” and last month he called countries originally targeted by his Muslim ban “infested.”

From Salon

Related Words

• ravaged