pestilence Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
    plague; pestis; pest.
  2. noun any epidemic disease with a high death rate
    plague; pest.
  3. noun a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of
    canker.
    • racism is a pestilence at the heart of the nation
    • according to him, I was the canker in their midst

WordNet

Pes"ti*lence noun
Etymology
F. pestilence, L. pestilentia. See Pestilent.
Definitions
  1. Specifically, the disease known as the plague; hence, any contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating.
    The pestilence That walketh in darkness. Ps. xci. 6.
  2. Fig.: That which is pestilent, noxious, or pernicious to the moral character of great numbers.
    I'll pour this pestilence into his ear. Shak.
    Dr. Prior.

Webster 1913