pestilence
pe stuh luhns
- n 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
- n any epidemic disease with a high death rate
- n a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of
racism is a pestilence at the heart of the nation
- After World War I, the pale horse of pestilence galloped unchecked across Europe.
- Man-made pestilence still walks in the darkness of military secrecy.
- In Europe's bloody wars, for every ten men slain by the enemy, pestilence has killed its thousands.