blight

American  

[blahyt] / blaɪt /

noun

1. Plant Pathology.

   1. the rapid and extensive discoloration, wilting, and death of plant tissues.

   2. a disease so characterized.

2. any cause of impairment, destruction, ruin, or frustration.

   Extravagance was the blight of the family.

   Synonyms:

   bane, scourge, plague, curse

3. the state or result of being blighted or deteriorated; dilapidation; decay.

   urban blight.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cause to wither or decay; blast.

   Frost blighted the crops.

2. to destroy; ruin; frustrate.

   Illness blighted his hopes.

verb (used without object)

1. to suffer blight.

blight British  

/ blaɪt /

noun

1. any plant disease characterized by withering and shrivelling without rotting See also potato blight

2. any factor, such as bacterial attack or air pollution, that causes the symptoms of blight in plants

3. a person or thing that mars or prevents growth, improvement, or prosperity

4. an ugly urban district

5. the state or condition of being blighted or spoilt

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verb

1. to cause or suffer a blight

2. (tr) to frustrate or disappoint

3. (tr) to spoil; destroy

blight Scientific  

/ blīt /

1. Any of numerous plant diseases that cause leaves, stems, fruits, and tissues to wither and die. Rust, mildew, and smut are blights.

2. The bacterium, fungus, or virus that causes such a disease.

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Other Word Forms

• blightingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of blight

First recorded in 1605–15; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

What struck me instead is how ably Garbus presents what Rupert Murdoch and men like him have wrought as not just a blight on society but a pox on all our houses, including his own.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026

The trial is just the latest in a long line of controversies to blight the once-revered abode, which is currently owned by developer Steven “Bo” Belmont, CEO of “real estate crowdfunding firm” Belwood Investments.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026

Top-down org charts are a blight, but one artificial intelligence will put an end to.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

"Dirty" and "grubby" telephone boxes are a blight on a city centre, say local residents, who are calling for upgraded, digital communication kiosks to replace them.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2025

‘It is ever so with the things that Men begin: there is a frost in Spring, or a blight in Summer, and they fail of their promise.’

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

• affliction
• canker
• decay
• eyesore
• fungus
• infestation
• mildew
• pest
• scourge