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pestilence

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
14
Words With Friends
18
Letters
10
Pronunciation
/ˈpɛstələn(t)s/
See all 4 pronunciations
/ˈpɛstələn(t)s/ · /ˈpɛstɪlən(t)s/ · /ˈpɛstlən(t)s/ · /ˈpɛstələn(t)s/ (US)

Definition of pestilence

3 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating.
    “1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XVII, Chapter iii, leaf 347r and hit was in the realme of Logrys and soo bifelle grete pestylence & grete harme to both Realmes "And it was in the realm of Logris; and so befell great pestilence and great harm to both realms."”
    “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.”
    “"Take it, Christian dogsǃ take the palaces, the gardens, the mosques, the abode of our fathers - take plague with them; pestilence is the enemy we fly; if she be your friend, hug her to your bosoms. The curse of Allah is on Stamboul, share ye her fateǃ"”
    “The pestilence slew and slew, and ceased not by day or by night, and those who escaped from the pestilence were slain of the famine.”
See all 3 definitions

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating.
    “1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XVII, Chapter iii, leaf 347r and hit was in the realme of Logrys and soo bifelle grete pestylence & grete harme to both Realmes "And it was in the realm of Logris; and so befell great pestilence and great harm to both realms."”
    “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.”
    “"Take it, Christian dogsǃ take the palaces, the gardens, the mosques, the abode of our fathers - take plague with them; pestilence is the enemy we fly; if she be your friend, hug her to your bosoms. The curse of Allah is on Stamboul, share ye her fateǃ"”
    “The pestilence slew and slew, and ceased not by day or by night, and those who escaped from the pestilence were slain of the famine.”
  2. (archaic, countable, uncountable)Anything harmful to morals or public order.

name

  1. The personification of pestilence, often depicted riding a white horse.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pestilentia (“plague”), from pestilens (“infected, unwholesome, noxious”); equivalent to pestilent + -ence.

Words you can make from pestilence

200+ playable · top: SPLENETIC (13 pts)

Best play splenetic 13 points

9-letter words

2 words

8-letter words

9 words

7-letter words

37 words

6-letter words

55 words

5-letter words

96 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

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