pestilent

[ pes-tl-uhnt ]
See synonyms for pestilent on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. producing or tending to produce infectious or contagious, often epidemic, disease; pestilential.

  2. destructive to life; deadly; poisonous.

  1. injurious to peace, morals, etc.; pernicious.

  2. troublesome, annoying, or mischievous.

Origin of pestilent

1
1350–1400; Middle English <Latin pestilent- (stem of pestilēns) unhealthy, noxious, alteration of pestilentus, equivalent to pesti- (stem of pestis) pest + -lentus-lent

Other words from pestilent

  • pes·ti·lent·ly, adverb
  • an·ti·pes·ti·lent, adjective
  • an·ti·pes·ti·lent·ly, adverb
  • non·pes·ti·lent, adjective
  • non·pes·ti·lent·ly, adverb
  • un·pes·ti·lent, adjective
  • un·pes·ti·lent·ly, adverb

Words Nearby pestilent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pestilent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pestilent

pestilent

/ (ˈpɛstɪlənt) /


adjective
  1. annoying; irritating

  2. highly destructive morally or physically; pernicious

  1. infected with or likely to cause epidemic or infectious disease

Origin of pestilent

1
C15: from Latin pestilens unwholesome, from pestis plague

Derived forms of pestilent

  • pestilently, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012