blighted
Americanadjective
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Plant Pathology. affected with blight, a disease or condition characterized by the rapid and extensive discoloration, wilting, and death of plant tissues.
Small, black fungal fruiting bodies form on the blighted twigs and produce infective spores.
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dilapidated or deteriorated.
They saw the potential for the blighted building to provide affordable housing once renovated, and took on the project.
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(of a region, city, area, etc.) not flourishing; stagnant, run-down, socially depressed, etc..
A new fitness center and natural foods market are replacing a blighted corner with jobs, economic activity, and healthier lifestyles.
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ruined or marred.
The people who forget their past are condemned to a blighted future.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of blighted
blight + -ed 2 ( def. ) blight for defs. 1, 2, 4; blight + -ed 3 ( def. ) blight for def. 3; blight + -ed 1 ( def. ) blighted for def. 5
Explanation
Use the adjective blighted to describe something that has a condition that makes it weak or unable to grow, like a blighted lawn with more brown patches than green. Language experts can’t agree on the exact origins of the word blighted, but when it entered English in the sixteenth century it was used to describe a skin condition. Today, you’ll hear the word applied to plants that are affected by a condition that causes them to wither and die, like a blighted tomato crop, or to describe the neglect and decay of places, such as blighted buildings that pose safety hazards.
Vocabulary lists containing blighted
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They blighted his two-year tenure, after he led his party to victory in 2024 elections following 14 years in opposition.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
The lough has been blighted by potentially toxic blue-green algal blooms since 2023, due to pollution primarily from agriculture and wastewater.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Burnham would inherit an economy blighted by low productivity, rising borrowing costs and an aging population.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Meanwhile, county prosecutor John McKinney tapped into voter frustration with homeless encampments, a blighted downtown and general distrust of City Hall to pull off a last-minute heist of the second runoff spot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Outsiders already looked upon Philadelphia as a blighted area.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
