Definitions for plague
pleɪgplague

Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. plague, pestilence, pest, pestis(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

2. plague, pestilence, pest(noun)

   any epidemic disease with a high death rate

3. infestation, plague(noun)

   a swarm of insects that attack plants

   "a plague of grasshoppers"

4. plague(noun)

   any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God)

5. plague(verb)

   an annoyance

   "those children are a damn plague"

6. blight, plague(verb)

   cause to suffer a blight

   "Too much rain may blight the garden with mold"

7. harass, hassle, harry, chivy, chivvy, chevy, chevvy, beset, plague, molest, provoke(verb)

   annoy continually or chronically

   "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers"

Wiktionary(3.83 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. plague(Noun)

   (used absolutely, usually capitalized: The Pest) The pestilent disease "Plague", caused by the virulent bacterium Yersinia pestis and mostly known by its variant form bubonic plague.

   Etymology: From plage, from plaga, from plango. Cognate with Dutch plaag, German Plage, Swedish plåga, French plaie and Polish plaga.

2. plague(Noun)

   An epidemic or pandemic caused by any pestilence, but specifically by the above disease.

   Etymology: From plage, from plaga, from plango. Cognate with Dutch plaag, German Plage, Swedish plåga, French plaie and Polish plaga.

3. plague(Noun)

   A widespread affliction, calamity or destructive influx, especially when seen as divine retribution.

   Ten Biblical plagues over Egypt, ranging from locusts to the death of the crown prince, finally forced Pharaoh to let Moses's people go

   Etymology: From plage, from plaga, from plango. Cognate with Dutch plaag, German Plage, Swedish plåga, French plaie and Polish plaga.

4. plague(Noun)

   A grave nuisance, whatever greatly irritates

   Rascal Bart is an utter plague, his pranks never cease until he's put over the knee

   Etymology: From plage, from plaga, from plango. Cognate with Dutch plaag, German Plage, Swedish plåga, French plaie and Polish plaga.

5. plague(Verb)

   To harass, pester or annoy someone persistently or incessantly.

   Wikis are often plagued by vandalism

   Etymology: From plage, from plaga, from plango. Cognate with Dutch plaag, German Plage, Swedish plåga, French plaie and Polish plaga.

6. plague(Verb)

   To afflict with a disease or other calamity.

   Natural catastrophies plagued the colonists till they abandoned the pestilent marshland

   Etymology: From plage, from plaga, from plango. Cognate with Dutch plaag, German Plage, Swedish plåga, French plaie and Polish plaga.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Plague(noun)

   that which smites, wounds, or troubles; a blow; a calamity; any afflictive evil or torment; a great trail or vexation

   Etymology: [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to Gr. , fr. to strike; cf. L. plangere to strike, beat. Cf. Plaint.]

2. Plague(noun)

   an acute malignant contagious fever, that often prevails in Egypt, Syria, and Turkey, and has at times visited the large cities of Europe with frightful mortality; hence, any pestilence; as, the great London plague

   Etymology: [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to Gr. , fr. to strike; cf. L. plangere to strike, beat. Cf. Plaint.]

3. Plague(verb)

   to infest or afflict with disease, calamity, or natural evil of any kind

   Etymology: [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to Gr. , fr. to strike; cf. L. plangere to strike, beat. Cf. Plaint.]

4. Plague(verb)

   fig.: To vex; to tease; to harass

   Etymology: [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to Gr. , fr. to strike; cf. L. plangere to strike, beat. Cf. Plaint.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Plague

   Plague was a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She was originally a member of the Morlocks before joining the Horsemen of Apocalypse.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Plague

   plāg, n. any great natural evil: a deadly disease or pestilence: a very troublesome person or thing, esp. a malignant kind of contagious fever, prevailing epidemically, characterised by buboes, or swellings of the lymphatic glands, by carbuncles and petechiæ.—v.t. to infest with disease or trouble: to harass or annoy:—pr.p. plāg′uing; pa.t. and pa.p. plāgued.—ns. Plague′-mark, -spot, a mark or spot of plague or foul disease: a place where disease is constantly present; Plag′uer, one who plagues, vexes, or annoys; Plague′-sore.—adv. Plag′uily, vexatiously.—adj. Plaguy (plā′gi), vexatious: (Shak.) troublesome.—adv. vexatiously.—Plague on, may a curse rest on.—Be at the plague, to be at the trouble. [O. Fr. plague—L. plaga, a blow; Gr. plēgē.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Plague

   An acute infectious disease caused by YERSINIA PESTIS that affects humans, wild rodents, and their ectoparasites. This condition persists due to its firm entrenchment in sylvatic rodent-flea ecosystems throughout the world. Bubonic plague is the most common form.

How to pronounce plague?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say plague in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of plague in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of plague in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of plague in a Sentence

1. Anonymous:

   A future with automation is the equivalent as the past with primitive technology. It is the abstract factor that will ruin the utmost ambitions of our families' generations. To combat this 'societal plague' is to combat laziness, similar to defending against our negative mentality.

2. John Boorman:

   The gun is good. The penis is evil. The penis shoots seeds, and makes new life to poison the earth with a plague of men, as once it was. But the gun shoots death, and purifies the earth of the filth of brutals. Go forth... and kill!

3. Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes:

   Corruption is the plague, it's the gangrene of society.

4. Jonathan Blake:

   There was this absolute fear about what was befalling seemingly healthy gay men, who would suddenly take ill for no apparent reason and die in appalling circumstances, your head is messed up, you have this killer virus coursing through your veins, you feel like a pariah... HIV was considered a gay plague that we (gay men) had brought upon ourselves - it was horrid.

5. Simon Clarke:

   You can't stop people wanting to travel, and that has been the case for thousands of years, in exactly the same way that sailing goods around the world allowed bubonic plague into the UK, allowing people to fly around the world allows them to spread diseases.

Images & Illustrations of plague

Popularity rank by frequency of use