as in plague
a widespread disease resulting in a high rate of death
the fear that terrorists could unleash a pestilence that would wreak unspeakable havoc
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Recent Examples of pestilence
Disease, pestilence and death: Has unsealing King Tut's tomb unleashed an ancient curse?
Fox Nation's 'Tales of Terror: The Curse of King Tut' unravels the media frenzy after the uncovering of the Egyptian pharaoh's ancient tomb and the devastation that followed.
—
Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 4 Dec. 2024
Disease, pestilence and death: Has unsealing King Tut's tomb unleashed an ancient curse?
Fox Nation's 'Tales of Terror: The Curse of King Tut' unravels the media frenzy that came on the heels of uncovering the Egyptian pharaoh's ancient tomb and the devastation that followed.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 30 Nov. 2024
Sometimes, what happens at the border — contraband, counterfeit items, illicit drugs, agricultural pestilence and non-native plant species — stays at the border.
—Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press, 21 Nov. 2024
In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pestilence
Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 4 Dec. 2024
Disease, pestilence and death: Has unsealing King Tut's tomb unleashed an ancient curse?
Fox Nation's 'Tales of Terror: The Curse of King Tut' unravels the media frenzy that came on the heels of uncovering the Egyptian pharaoh's ancient tomb and the devastation that followed.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 30 Nov. 2024
Sometimes, what happens at the border — contraband, counterfeit items, illicit drugs, agricultural pestilence and non-native plant species — stays at the border.
—Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press, 21 Nov. 2024
In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pestilence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pestilence
Noun
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Sunday’s semi-final was far from a complete performance, with familiar defensive lapses on the transition returning to plague a laboured second half.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
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In those 14 weeks, the president has unleashed an economic agenda so punishing that the only way to understand it in a historical context is not through a lens of policy but of plagues.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pestilence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pestilence. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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