blight

[ blahyt ]
See synonyms for blight on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Plant Pathology.

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

    • a disease so characterized.

  2. any cause of impairment, destruction, ruin, or frustration: Extravagance was the blight of the family.

  1. the state or result of being blighted or deteriorated; dilapidation; decay: urban blight.

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.

Origin of blight

1
First recorded in 1605–15; of uncertain origin

Other words for blight

Other words from blight

  • blight·ing·ly, adverb

Words Nearby blight

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

How to use blight in a sentence

  • There is still mademoiselle, with her new-formed friends in Paris—may a pestilence blight them all!

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • The country around Llangollen was beautiful, but the memory of the hotel leaves a blight over all.

  • Tokyo might fall under the blight of progress, but Kano would hold to the traditions of his race.

    The Dragon Painter | Mary McNeil Fenollosa
  • Is not one bitter trouble sufficient to blight all of a sudden the most peaceful and happy life?

  • Out in the vegetable area there were first cutworms and then drought and potato blight to be contended with.

    The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for blight

blight

/ (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

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

  2. an ugly urban district

  3. the state or condition of being blighted or spoilt

verb
  1. to cause or suffer a blight

  2. (tr) to frustrate or disappoint

  1. (tr) to spoil; destroy

Origin of blight

1
C17: perhaps related to Old English blǣce rash; compare bleach

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

Scientific definitions for blight

blight

[ 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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.