vermin

[ vur-min ]

noun

, plural ver·min.

1. noxious, objectionable, or disgusting animals collectively, especially those of small size that appear commonly and are difficult to control, as flies, lice, bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, and rats.
2. an objectionable or obnoxious person, or such persons collectively.
3. animals that prey upon game, as coyotes or weasels.

vermin

/ ˈvɜːmɪn /

noun

1. functioning as plural small animals collectively, esp insects and rodents, that are troublesome to man, domestic animals, etc
2. -min an unpleasant, obnoxious, or dangerous person

Word History and Origins

Origin of vermin¹

1300–50; Middle English vermyne < Anglo-French, Middle French vermin, vermine < Vulgar Latin *verminum, *vermina, based on Latin vermin-; verminate

Word History and Origins

Origin of vermin¹

C13: from Old French vermine, from Latin vermis a worm

Example Sentences

As Anne Applebaum has pointed out, Trump has frequently used dehumanizing language such as “vermin,” a style and approach that is reminiscent of Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump is personally promising to crush the “enemy within” and the “demonic” Democrats and “the Left” as he “purifies” the “blood” of the nation from the human vermin.

From Salon

He at times sounds like a newsreel from 1930s Germany, calling his enemies “vermin” and “sick people” and claims immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

From Los Angeles Times

Federal lawmakers slowed investing in public housing as people of color moved in, leaving homes with mold, vermin, and other health hazards.

From Salon

The former president repeatedly says that immigrants are "poisoning the blood" and calls his political opponents "vermin" and "enemies within" who must be purged.

From Salon

Related Words

• ant
• flea
• insect
• mosquito
• rodent