pestilence
gb/pˈɛstɪləns/ us/pˈɛstɪləns/
C2
英语
~ 9300
ragály, dögvész, rákfene, métely, pestis
名词
C2
LITERARY
1
用法模式：
[pestilence] spreads through [a place]
The city was emptied as pestilence swept through its crowded streets.
A város kiürült, ahogy a ragály végigsöpört zsúfolt utcáin.
Medieval chronicles describe a terrible pestilence that killed half the population.
A középkori krónikák egy rettenetes ragályról számolnak be, amely a lakosság felét megölte.
Without clean water and proper sanitation, pestilence soon followed the flood.
Fear of pestilence kept traders away from the infected ports for months.
学习者例句
A strange pestilence killed many people in the small town.
Egy különös ragály sok embert megölt a kisvárosban.
Doctors tried to stop the pestilence from spreading to other villages.
Az orvosok megpróbálták megakadályozni, hogy a ragály átterjedjen más falvakra.
They prayed for the pestilence to end.
After the pestilence, only a few families were left.
常见错误：
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.
含义
deadly infectious epidemic disease
搭配
war, famine, and pestilence
|plague and pestilence
|spread of pestilence
|deadly pestilence
|a great pestilence
近义词
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.)
反义词
health (Represents the normal, desired condition of being free from disease, the opposite of widespread deadly sickness.)
主题
health
|disaster
|history
释义
A very dangerous disease that moves quickly through a group of people or animals and kills many of them.
A very serious and often fatal infectious disease that spreads quickly among many people or animals in a particular area.
名词
C2
LITERARY
2
用法模式：
a pestilence of [something]
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.
学习者例句
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.
常见错误：
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.
含义
widespread harmful influence or corruption
搭配
a pestilence of corruption
|a moral pestilence
|pestilence of violence
|pestilence of hatred
近义词
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.)
反义词
blessing (Describes something very good and helpful, the opposite of a harmful, spreading influence.)
主题
society
|morality
|politics
|core_vocabulary
释义
A very bad thing, like violence or corruption, that grows and spreads through a group or place and hurts many people.
Something, especially a practice, influence, or condition, that spreads widely and causes great harm or moral corruption.
名词
C2
ARCHAIC
3
pestis
B1
用法模式：
the pestilence of [year/period]
Chroniclers wrote that the pestilence first appeared in the port and then spread inland.
A krónikások azt írták, hogy a pestis először a kikötőben jelent meg, majd a szárazföld belseje felé terjedt.
Many villages were abandoned after the pestilence passed through the countryside.
Sok falut elhagytak, miután a pestis végigsöpört a vidéken.
The play is set during the great pestilence that devastated London in 1665.
学习者例句
In this history book, the word "pestilence" means the plague.
Ebben a történelemkönyvben a „pestilence” szó pestist jelent.
The pestilence killed so many people that fields were empty.
A pestis annyi embert megölt, hogy a földek parlagon maradtak.
Old letters tell of the fear people felt when the pestilence came.
常见错误：
Learners may not realize that in some historical texts, "pestilence" refers specifically to the bubonic plague, not just any disease.
含义
the bubonic plague (historic)
搭配
the Great Pestilence
|the pestilence of 1348
|the pestilence of 1665
|the pestilence swept London
近义词
the plague (The usual modern name for the disease; more common than the archaic use of "pestilence.")
反义词
good health (Represents the normal state of a population free from the historic plague outbreaks.)
主题
history
|health
|time
释义
An old word that in history books can mean the bubonic plague, the very deadly disease that killed many people in Europe long ago.
An old term used especially in historical texts to refer specifically to the bubonic plague, particularly the outbreaks in medieval and early modern Europe.
语法
词典原形
pestilence
IPA
GB/pˈɛstɪləns/
US/pˈɛstɪləns/
音节与重音
pes - ti - lence （3 个音节）
Stress on 1st syllable (pes)
词形变化
Noun
- Base: pestilence
- Plural: pestilence, pestilences
词族
Forms
pestilences
noun
Related words
相关表达
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.
例句
- 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.
例句
- 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.