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plague

[ pleyg ]

/ pleɪg /

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See synonyms for: plague / plagued / plagues / plaguing on Thesaurus.com

noun

an epidemic disease that causes high mortality; pestilence.

an infectious, epidemic disease caused by a bacterium, Yersinia pestis, characterized by fever, chills, and prostration, transmitted to humans from rats by means of the bites of fleas.Compare bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, septicemic plague.

any widespread affliction, calamity, or evil, especially one regarded as a direct punishment by God: a plague of war and desolation.

any cause of trouble, annoyance, or vexation: Uninvited guests are a plague.

verb (used with object), plagued, pla·guing.

to trouble, annoy, or torment in any manner: The question of his future plagues him with doubt.

to annoy, bother, or pester: Ants plagued the picnickers.

to smite with a plague, pestilence, death, etc.; scourge: those whom the gods had plagued.

to infect with a plague; cause an epidemic in or among: diseases that still plague the natives of Ethiopia.

to afflict with any evil: He was plagued by allergies all his life.

OTHER WORDS FOR plague

4 nuisance, bother, torment.

6 harass, vex, harry, hector, fret, worry, badger, irritate, disturb.

See synonyms for plague on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of plague

1350–1400; Middle English plage<Latin plāga stripe, wound, Late Latin: pestilence

synonym study for plague

6. See bother.

OTHER WORDS FROM plague

plaguer, nounan·ti·plague, noun, adjectiveun·plagued, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH plague

plague , plaque

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use plague in a sentence

That’s less flow sweeping through concrete canals, carrying garbage and other undesirables to plague the beaches of Southern California.
Two Companies See a Golden Opportunity in the Tijuana River’s Brown Waters|MacKenzie Elmer|November 20, 2020|Voice of San Diego
For these members of Congress, the gun debate is personal Long lines and delayed results again plague coronavirus tests as Thanksgiving approaches
Virginia gun show organizer files suit against Northam’s tightened coronavirus rules|Antonio Olivo|November 18, 2020|Washington Post
Yersinia pestis, the germ that causes plague, tamps down the early immune response, so that infected people can travel and spread infection for days before they feel sick.
Will the Coronavirus Evolve to Be Less Deadly?|Wendy Orent|November 15, 2020|Singularity Hub
If you’re looking for something beyond documentaries, try “Blood Quantum,” a Canadian zombie apocalypse film where only the Indigenous are immune to the plague.
The best things to do — virtually and in person — while social distancing in the D.C. area|Fritz Hahn, Hau Chu|November 12, 2020|Washington Post

It’s fair to say that the Renaissance followed the plague, the good follows the bad.
‘It’s difficult to make the right call’: The many faces of the U.K.’s coronavirus-era Christmas advertising|Seb Joseph|November 12, 2020|Digiday
The big twist is that by requesting those documents, Hall did in fact uncover a nepotism problem plaguing UT admissions.
The University of Texas’s Machiavellian War on Its Regent|David Davis|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This problem, one of many plaguing the region due to Ebola, gets exponentially worse with every new victim.
Liberia’s Ebola Orphans|Abby Haglage|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By 1910, when Broussard introduced his bill, the flowers had been plaguing his state for at least a decade.
Lake Bacon: The Story of The Man Who Wanted Us to Eat Mississippi Hippos|Jon Mooallem|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Caleb makes clear that those plaguing him are honest-to-god metaphysical beings and not traumatic figments.
Possessed by PTSD, A Veteran Uses Exorcisms to Cast Out His Demons|Brian Van Reet|February 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The threat of a future mass uprising won't disappear until the larger issues plaguing the Palestinians do.
The Coming West Bank Instability|Ali Gharib|May 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Are you bent on plaguing me, Matilda, or is it that you truly believe I am seeking some pretense to go away under a false flag?
The Great Mogul|Louis Tracy
The priest goes on talking about it, and plaguing him with it, when he wants to forget it.
Ravenshoe|Henry Kingsley
I was opposed to your perpetually plaguing the child, and also to the endless jumping from one thing to another.
Three Comedies|Bjrnstjerne M. Bjrnson
Here's my wife gets no sleep of a night as it is, all owing to that Varney, who has been plaguing us so long.
Varney the Vampire|Thomas Preskett Prest
I am very easy here, nobody plaguing me in a morning; and Patrick saves many a score lies.
The Journal to Stella|Jonathan Swift

British Dictionary definitions for plague

plague

/ (pleɪɡ) /

noun

any widespread and usually highly contagious disease with a high fatality rate

an infectious disease of rodents, esp rats, transmitted to man by the bite of the rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis)

See bubonic plague

something that afflicts or harasses

informal an annoyance or nuisance

a pestilence, affliction, or calamity on a large scale, esp when regarded as sent by God

archaic used to express annoyance, disgust, etca plague on you

verb plagues, plaguing or plagued (tr)

to afflict or harass

to bring down a plague upon

informal to annoy

Derived forms of plague

plaguer, noun

Word Origin for plague

C14: from Late Latin plāga pestilence, from Latin: a blow; related to Greek plēgē a stroke, Latin plangere to strike

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

Scientific definitions for plague

plague

[ plāg ]

Any of various highly infectious, usually fatal epidemic diseases.

An often fatal disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted to humans usually by fleas that have bitten infected rats or other rodents.♦ Bubonic plague, the most common type, is characterized by the tender, swollen lymph nodes called buboes, fever, clotting abnormalities of the blood, and tissue necrosis. An epidemic of bubonic plague in fourteenth-century Europe and Asia was known as the Black Death.

Cultural definitions for plague

plague

[ (playg) ]

A highly contagious disease, such as bubonic plague, that spreads quickly throughout a population and causes widespread sickness and death.

notes for plague

The term is also used to refer to widespread outbreaks of many kinds, such as a “plague of locusts.”

Other Idioms and Phrases with plague

plague

see avoid like the plague.

plague

OTHER WORDS FOR plague

Origin of plague

synonym study for plague

OTHER WORDS FROM plague

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH plague

Words related to plague

How to use plague in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for plague

Derived forms of plague

Word Origin for plague

Scientific definitions for plague

Cultural definitions for plague

notes for plague

Other Idioms and Phrases with plague