infested

American  

[in-fes-tid] / ɪnˈfɛs tɪd /

adjective

1. overrun to an unwanted degree or in a troublesome manner by predatory animals or vermin (often used in combination).

   It is so difficult to eradicate cockroaches from an infested area.

   The only unguarded way of escape was through an alligator-infested swamp.

2. filled or riddled with anything undesirable or troublesome (usually used in combination).

   The restaurant sat in an increasingly tourist-infested part of town.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of infest.

Other Word Forms

• uninfested adjective

Etymology

Origin of infested

First recorded in 1890–1900; infest ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; infest ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Every spring, caterpillars infested the fruit trees at their property’s edge, and every July the children watched from the porch as their father used a torch to burn out the larvae.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Rats "the same size as a rabbit" have infested a city street where fly-tipping is an ongoing problem, residents say.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

The area was once viewed as ominous, dominated by an ancient walnut tree believed to be infested with demons and marking the supposed burial place of Emperor Nero.

From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026

“We keep seeing these oak groves getting infested and declining, and a lot of oak mortality,” said Beatriz Nobua-Behrmann, an ecologist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, or UCANR.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2026

That fascination has infested me today like the wood-eating bugs that slowly lay waste to our house.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

Related Words

• ravaged