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.
Back pain is one of the UK's most common conditions that has blighted millions over generations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
When Melton became mayor in 2024, he said he sought advice from Detroit’s then-mayor, Mike Duggan, who had helped revitalize his city by eliminating blighted buildings and curbing the population exodus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The army has been blighted by several scandals -- particularly over an unpopular mobilisation drive, the treatment of conscripts and reports of widespread absenteeism and equipment shortages in some units.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
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 grass, the withering leaves were full of whispering, but the campground was hushed, muffled by their presence, as if blighted.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
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.
