infesting
Spreading like vermin
Infesting is the present participle of infest—to overrun or inhabit in troublesome numbers.
Pests infest: rats infesting the subway, termites infesting the walls.
The word implies unwanted presence and often harm or nuisance.
Figuratively, problems or undesirable people can infest a place: scammers infesting the comments section.
Harmful small animals
- rodentsGnawing mammal order
- liceBloodsucking scalp insects
- termitesWood-eating social insects
- cockroachesHardy household insect pests
bedbugs · fleas · mites · ants · mosquitoes · parasites · ticks · weevils
Surpassing intended limits
- swarmingGathering in large numbers
- proliferatingIncreasing rapidly in quantity
- multiplyingIncreasing by repeated addition
- teemingAbundantly full of
crawling · breeding · plaguing · overwhelming · saturating · pervading · engulfing · permeating
Occupying and controlling territory
- nonnativeNot indigenous to a place
- exoticStrikingly unusual, foreign-seeming
- alienNon-native being
- displacingRemoving from position
encroaching · outcompeting · proliferating · spreading · establishing · adapting · naturalizing · overrunning
vermin
Harmful small animals
cockroaches · bedbugs · fleas · mites · ants · mosquitoes · parasites · ticks · weevils · aphids
overrunning
Surpassing intended limits
- swarmingGathering in large numbers
- proliferatingIncreasing rapidly in quantity
- multiplyingIncreasing by repeated addition
teeming · crawling · breeding · plaguing · overwhelming · saturating · pervading · engulfing · permeating · riddling
colonizing
Occupying and controlling territory
displacing · encroaching · outcompeting · proliferating · spreading · establishing · adapting · naturalizing · overrunning · choking
contamination
Introduction of impurities
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- contagionDisease spread by contact
- epidemicWidespread disease occurrence
outbreak · pathogen · bacteria · virus · fungus · mold · parasite · microbe · transmission · blight
infestingpassing through
Moving across without staying
vacating · abandoning · evacuating · clearing out · departing
infestingpurifying
Removing unwanted substances
cleansing · gracing · enriching · protecting · nurturing
infestingabandoning
Leaving permanently behind
evacuating · vacating · clearing out · fleeing · deserting
infested, infest, infestation, infests, reinfestation, reinfest, uninfested, reinfested