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plaguy

or pla·guey

[pley-gee]Chiefly Northern U.S.
adjective
  1. such as to plague, torment, or annoy; vexatious: a plaguy pile of debts.
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adverb
  1. vexatiously or excessively: The room is plaguy hot.
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Origin of plaguy

First recorded in 1565–75; plague + -y1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for plaguey

Historical Examples

  • He was only too plaguey sure of himself to feel any anxiety.

    A Venetian June

    Anna Fuller

  • It takes a plaguey lot to move it, and then it moves as slowly as a steam-roller.

    The Master Mummer

    E. Phillips Oppenheim

  • "He aer a plaguey feller, he's that short-winded," grumbled Bill.

    Indian and Scout

    F. S. Brereton

  • I don't see what you want to be a plaguey old saint for, anyway.

    In Pawn

    Ellis Parker Butler

  • The plaguey rascals said I was a night-walker, and that I behaved suspiciously.

    Captain Ravenshaw

    Robert Neilson Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for plaguey

plaguy

plaguey

archaic, informal
adjective
  1. disagreeable or vexing
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adverb
  1. disagreeably or annoyingly
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Derived Formsplaguily, 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 plaguey

adj.

1570s, "pertaining to a plague," from plague (n.) + -y (2). Figurative meaning "vexatious" is from 1610s. As an adverb (properly it would be plaguily) it is attested from 1580s, often with deliberate attempt at humor.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper