What does pestilence mean?
Pestilence is a formal or literary word for a devastating contagious disease, especially plague. It can also describe a spreading influence that is considered socially or morally destructive, such as corruption, greed, or violence. The figurative sense is often deliberately grave: calling something a pestilence suggests that it is pervasive, harmful, and difficult to control. In modern writing, the word appears mainly in historical accounts, religious or political rhetoric, and stylized descriptions of disaster, rather than in everyday medical language. Its associations with historic plagues and its Latin ancestry give it a distinctly solemn character. The expression may therefore be effective in literature and persuasive prose, although more neutral words such as epidemic, scourge, or blight are generally preferred in ordinary discussion.
nounA contagious or devastating disease, especially plague. By extension, it can refer to any harmful or corrupting influence, such as greed, violence, or social disorder.
- A contagious or devastating disease, especially plague.
- A harmful, destructive, or corrupting influence spreading through a community or institution.
"The physician warned that the pestilence would soon reach the neighboring villages."
"Ancient records describe a pestilence that carried away a large part of the population."
"She condemned the political corruption that had become a pestilence within the organization."
The plural is standard but uncommon because the word is mainly used in literary, historical, or figurative contexts.
"The chronicles record several devastating pestilences across the region."
Pestilence began as a medical warning about disease, but its darkest figurative use describes an evil that spreads through a whole society.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pestilence come from?
The word entered English in the late Middle English period through Old French pestilence, from Latin pestilentia. The Latin term was derived from pestilens, meaning infected or contagious, and ultimately from pestis, meaning plague or contagion. Its modern figurative meanings developed by extending the idea of physical disease to harmful social and moral conditions.
Related word forms
How pestilence is actually used
The word is now chiefly literary, historical, or rhetorical. It often carries a solemn, elevated, or ominous tone and is not normally used for a minor or routine outbreak of illness.
Easily confused with pestilence
Pestilence is a general literary term for a widespread or devastating disease, while plague usually names the specific disease caused by Yersinia pestis.
An epidemic is a disease outbreak that is widespread or on the verge of becoming so, whereas pestilence more strongly suggests severity and can also be used figuratively.