pestiferous
Americanadjective
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spreading or bearing disease, especially deadly epidemic disease; pestilential.
pestiferous rats.
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pernicious; evil.
The wicked duke's pestiferous rule blighted the countryside.
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Informal. mischievous; troublesome or annoying.
Those pestiferous boys won't leave my apple tree alone.
adjective
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informal troublesome; irritating
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breeding, carrying, or spreading infectious disease
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corrupting; pernicious
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pestiferous
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin pestiferus “pestilential,” equivalent to pesti- (stem of pestis ) + -ferus; see origin at pest, -ferous
Vocabulary lists containing pestiferous
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.
Some experts believe other bugs and animals — including those considered pestiferous, like rats — are thriving from secondary impacts of all that H20, like increased vegetation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
Even before we brutally crammed them into pestiferous cages and messed with their DNA, chickens were just awesomely good at producing eggs and healthy meat.
From The Verge ● Jul. 24, 2016
They Crawl, They Bite, They Baffle Scientists Don’t be too quick to dismiss the common bedbug as merely a pestiferous six-legged blood-sucker.
From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2010
This time he contends with a computer-generated whirlpool and a pestiferous piscine cloud whose effects are more gruesome than genuinely scary.
From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2010
While the rest of the family tossed and dozed, I secretly made my way to the San Marcos River bank and enjoyed a daily interlude of no school, no pestiferous brothers, and no Mother.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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