plague
Widespread deadly sickness
A plague is a widespread affliction, whether a deadly epidemic disease, an infestation of pests, or any calamity that descends on a population.
The word often evokes biblical imagery—the plagues of Egypt included locusts, boils, and death of firstborn.
As a verb, plague means to cause persistent trouble or suffering: Injuries plagued the team all season.
Something plaguing you may be as serious as disease or as minor as a nagging worry that won't go away.
Swarming crop-destroying grasshoppers
- infestationPest takeover situation
- swarmMass of moving insects
- blightPlant disease causing decay
- verminHarmful small animals
scourge · biblical · exodus · pharaoh · famine · destruction · devastation · divine punishment
Of groin-node swellings
- epidemicWidespread disease occurrence
- outbreakSudden eruption of trouble
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- contagionDisease spread by contact
quarantine · symptoms · mortality · fever · boils · septicemic · pneumonic · transmission
Cause of mass suffering
- blightPlant disease causing decay
- curseInvoked harm through words
- afflictionCause of ongoing distress
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
catastrophe · disaster · ruin · doom · tribulation · woe · desolation · misfortune
Sudden eruption of trouble
- spreadTo distribute widely
- transmissionSending of information
- quarantineIsolation preventing disease transmission
- contagionDisease spread by contact
cholera · typhus · smallpox · influenza · measles · tuberculosis · yellow fever · mortality
Annoy with persistence
- tormentSevere prolonged suffering
- badgerNag persistently
- houndHunting dog breed
- botherTo annoy or disturb
bedevil · besiege · vex · trouble · annoy · nag · persecute · afflict
Biting insect parasites
- ratsLong-tailed urban pests
- rodentsGnawing mammal order
- vectorsDirected magnitude quantities
- reservoirsBodies storing water supply
transmission · prairie dogs · squirrels · marmots · wildlife · mammals
locusts
Swarming crop-destroying grasshoppers
- infestationPest takeover situation
- swarmMass of moving insects
- blightPlant disease causing decay
vermin · scourge · biblical · exodus · pharaoh · famine · destruction · devastation · divine punishment · apocalyptic
bubonic
Of groin-node swellings
- epidemicWidespread disease occurrence
- outbreakSudden eruption of trouble
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
contagion · quarantine · symptoms · mortality · fever · boils · septicemic · pneumonic · transmission · carrier
scourge
Cause of mass suffering
- blightPlant disease causing decay
- curseInvoked harm through words
- afflictionCause of ongoing distress
devastation · catastrophe · disaster · ruin · doom · tribulation · woe · desolation · misfortune · destruction
outbreak
Sudden eruption of trouble
- spreadTo distribute widely
- transmissionSending of information
- quarantineIsolation preventing disease transmission
contagion · cholera · typhus · smallpox · influenza · measles · tuberculosis · yellow fever · mortality · vectors
pester
Annoy with persistence
bother · bedevil · besiege · vex · trouble · annoy · nag · persecute · afflict · beset
fleas
Biting insect parasites
reservoirs · transmission · prairie dogs · squirrels · marmots · wildlife · mammals
- history termsempire, dynasty, colonialism, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- infectious diseasescholera, anthrax, malaria, measles, flu
- Medieval Europekings, queens, knights, castles, castle
- Medieval Historyfeudalism, Black Death, crusades, crusade, knight
- epidemicsepidemic, outbreak, disease, Black Death, cholera
- medical historyHippocrates, germ theory, bloodletting, Galen, four humors
plaguehealth
Condition of body, mind
wellness · vitality · good health · sniffle · robust health
- avoid like the plagueEvade with extreme caution
- the plagueDevastating infectious epidemic
- avoided like the plagueIntensely, deliberately evaded
- bubonic plagueYersinia pestis infection
- avoiding like the plagueExtreme deliberate evasion
- plague doctorEpidemic-treating masked physician
plagued, plagues, plagiarize, plaguing, plaguelike, plague-ridden, plague doctors