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pestilential

[pes-tl-en-shuh l]
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adjective
  1. producing or tending to produce pestilence.
  2. pertaining to or of the nature of pestilence, especially bubonic plague.
  3. pernicious; harmful.
  4. annoyingly troublesome.
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Origin of pestilential

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word pestilentiālis. See pestilent, -ial
Related formspes·ti·len·tial·ly, adverbpes·ti·len·tial·ness, nounan·ti·pes·ti·len·tial, adjectivenon·pes·ti·len·tial, adjectiveun·pes·ti·len·tial, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pestilential

baneful, deadly, destructive, fatal, harmful, injurious, malign, malignant, mephitic, noxious, pernicious, pestilent, poison, toxic, toxicant, unhealthy, unwholesome, venomous, infective, septic

Examples from the Web for pestilential

Contemporary Examples of pestilential

Historical Examples of pestilential

British Dictionary definitions for pestilential

pestilential

adjective
  1. dangerous or troublesome; harmful or annoying
  2. of, causing, or resembling pestilence
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Derived Formspestilentially, adverb
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

Word Origin and History for pestilential

adj.

late 14c., from Medieval Latin pestilentialis, from Latin pestilentia "plague" (see pestilence). Related: Pestilentially.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
pestilential in Medicine

pestilential

(pĕs′tə-lĕn′shəl)
adj.
  1. Of, relating to, or tending to produce a pestilence.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.