pestilence
gb/pˈɛstɪləns/ us/pˈɛstɪləns/
C2
English
~ 9300
Senses
0 senses
Noun
literary
C2
entity
1
deadly infectious epidemic disease
A very dangerous disease that moves quickly through a group of people or animals and kills many of them.
Usage pattern:
[pestilence] spreads through [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse "pestilence" with the more common words "pest" or "pesticide"; however, "pestilence" almost always refers to a serious disease, not to insects or chemicals. Learners also sometimes use it in casual conversation where "disease" or "epidemic" would sound more natural in modern English.
Synonyms
epidemic (More common in modern medical and news contexts; does not always imply that the disease is extremely deadly.)
|
plague (Can refer to a specific disease (like bubonic plague) or any very serious disease; slightly less old-fashioned than "pestilence.")
|
contagion (Emphasizes the ability of a disease to pass from person to person, and is more technical or formal.)
Antonyms
health (Represents the normal, desired condition of being free from disease, the opposite of widespread deadly sickness.)
Collocations
war, famine, and pestilence
|plague and pestilence
|spread of pestilence
|deadly pestilence
|a great pestilence
Themes
health
|disaster
|history
Examples
- The city was emptied as pestilence swept through its crowded streets.
- Medieval chronicles describe a terrible pestilence that killed half the population.
- Without clean water and proper sanitation, pestilence soon followed the flood.
- Fear of pestilence kept traders away from the infected ports for months.
Learner examples
- A strange pestilence killed many people in the small town.
- Doctors tried to stop the pestilence from spreading to other villages.
- They prayed for the pestilence to end.
- After the pestilence, only a few families were left.
Noun
literary
C2
entity
2
widespread harmful influence or corruption
A very bad thing, like violence or corruption, that grows and spreads through a group or place and hurts many people.
Usage pattern:
a pestilence of [something]
Common mistake:
Learners may think this sense is still about a physical disease and miss the figurative meaning. In this figurative use, "pestilence" usually refers to social problems (like corruption, hate, or crime) rather than medical illness.
Synonyms
scourge (Very close in tone and register, often used for serious, widespread problems like war, drugs, or poverty.)
|
blight (Suggests something that spoils or ruins, especially communities or hopes, and can sound slightly less dramatic than "pestilence.")
|
curse (Stresses the idea of a terrible problem or burden, sometimes with a hint of fate or punishment.)
Antonyms
blessing (Describes something very good and helpful, the opposite of a harmful, spreading influence.)
Collocations
a pestilence of corruption
|a moral pestilence
|pestilence of violence
|pestilence of hatred
Themes
society
|morality
|politics
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Many saw the unchecked corruption as a pestilence eating away at the nation’s institutions.
- Online misinformation has become a modern pestilence, spreading distrust and fear.
- The author calls racism a social pestilence that poisons every part of public life.
- For the villagers, the gangs were a pestilence that drove honest people from the streets.
Learner examples
- He called drug abuse a pestilence in the city.
- Some people say that online hate is a new pestilence.
- The leader promised to fight the pestilence of corruption.
- In her speech, she said that war is a pestilence on our world.
Noun
archaic
C2
entity
3
the bubonic plague (historic)
An old word that in history books can mean the bubonic plague, the very deadly disease that killed many people in Europe long ago.
Usage pattern:
the pestilence of [year/period]
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize that in some historical texts, "pestilence" refers specifically to the bubonic plague, not just any disease.
Synonyms
the plague (The usual modern name for the disease; more common than the archaic use of "pestilence.")
Antonyms
good health (Represents the normal state of a population free from the historic plague outbreaks.)
Collocations
the Great Pestilence
|the pestilence of 1348
|the pestilence of 1665
|the pestilence swept London
Themes
history
|health
|time
Examples
- Chroniclers wrote that the pestilence first appeared in the port and then spread inland.
- Many villages were abandoned after the pestilence passed through the countryside.
- The play is set during the great pestilence that devastated London in 1665.
Learner examples
- In this history book, the word "pestilence" means the plague.
- The pestilence killed so many people that fields were empty.
- Old letters tell of the fear people felt when the pestilence came.
Grammar
Dictionary form
pestilence
IPA
GB/pˈɛstɪləns/
US/pˈɛstɪləns/
Syllables & stress
pes - ti - lence (3 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (pes)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: pestilence
- Plural: pestilence, pestilences
Word family
Forms
pestilences
noun
Related words
Expressions
plague, pestilence, and famine
1/plˈeɪɡ | pˈɛstɪləns | ˈænd fˈæmən/
fixed phrase
literary
plague, deadly disease, and famine
A literary phrase that lists three terrible troubles: plague, other deadly diseases, and serious lack of food.
Examples
- The novel opens with a description of a land torn by plague, pestilence, and famine.
- Old prophecies spoke of plague, pestilence, and famine sweeping the earth.
war, famine, and pestilence
1/wˈɔɹ | fˈæmən | ˈænd pˈɛstɪləns/
fixed phrase
literary
war, famine, and deadly disease
A set phrase that names three very bad things that can happen to people: war, lack of food, and deadly disease.
Examples
- The historian writes that the kingdom was ruined by war, famine, and pestilence.
- In the old sermon, the preacher warned that war, famine, and pestilence were signs of judgement.