blight

[ blahyt ]

/ blaɪt /

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See synonyms for: blight / blighted on Thesaurus.com

noun

Plant Pathology.

the rapid and extensive discoloration, wilting, and death of plant tissues.
a disease so characterized.

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

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

verb (used with object)

to cause to wither or decay; blast: Frost blighted the crops.

to destroy; ruin; frustrate: Illness blighted his hopes.

verb (used without object)

to suffer blight.

SYNONYMS FOR blight

2 curse, plague, scourge, bane.

See synonyms for blight on Thesaurus.com

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The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

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Origin of blight

First recorded in 1605–15; of uncertain origin

OTHER WORDS FROM blight

blight·ing·ly, adverbun·blight·ed, adjectiveun·blight·ed·ly, adverbun·blight·ed·ness, noun

Words nearby blight

blew, blewit, blewits, Blida, Bligh, blight, blighter, blighty, bliksem, blimey, blimp

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for blight

The state holds an annual peach festival, even though it ceased to be the nation’s largest peach producer, due to a blight, more than a century ago.
Lovely, little Delaware — long famous for corporations, chickens and credit cards — is ready for its big moment|Karen Heller|January 12, 2021|Washington Post
The new variety has fewer diseases, including northern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot, maize streak virus, and maize lethal necrosis, a viral disease that was a big problem for us when it broke out in 2011.
How hybrid maize helps farmers get through dry spells|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Neighborhoods and commercial areas deprived of pedestrian traffic are more vulnerable to urban blight and street and property crime.
Myths and Shame Shouldn’t Guide Cannabis Regulations|John Bertsch|September 8, 2020|Voice of San Diego
For the uninitiated, the film is set on a future Earth whose crops (save corn) have been wiped out by a mysterious blight.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Breaks Down ‘Interstellar’: Black Holes, Time Dilations, and Massive Waves|Marlow Stern|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Was part of the attraction to the project shining a light in this bizarre blight on America?
The Resurrection of Kristen Stewart|Marlow Stern|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She paints the current rodent situation as more than a foul inconvenience, and one that is a particular blight on poorer areas.
Crowdsourcing NYC’s War on Rats|Kevin Zawacki|June 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the process, he captured the true spirit of Detroit and its people, all bankruptcy, crime, and urban blight aside.
The All-American Photographer Takes on Detroit|Erin Cunningham|June 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Increasingly, cities long left to rot are rising from the ashes of blight as they try to become shining examples of new urbanism.
A Tech Millionaire Bets on the Urban Revival of Downtown Las Vegas|Sarah Kunst|January 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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.
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car|Thomas D. Murphy
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?
Superstition In All Ages (1732)|Jean Meslier
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

any plant disease characterized by withering and shrivelling without rottingSee also potato blight

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

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

an ugly urban district

the state or condition of being blighted or spoilt

verb

to cause or suffer a blight

(tr) to frustrate or disappoint

(tr) to spoil; destroy

Word Origin for blight

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 ]

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

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

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