plague
🇬🇧 /ˈpleɪg/
🇺🇸 /ˈpleɪg/
📖 Definitions
-
noun
A highly contagious and often fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted by fleas from rodents.; Any contagious epidemic disease that is deadly or causes widespread suffering.; A large number of harmful or annoying things or people appearing at once; an infestation.; A calamity or affliction regarded as a divine punishment or a source of great trouble.; An annoying or troublesome person or thing.
-
verb
To cause continual trouble, distress, or annoyance to someone.; To afflict with or as if with a plague; to cause widespread suffering or destruction.; To harass or pester persistently.
🔗 Details
Word forms
countable
Plural: plagues
3rd sing.: plagues
Past: plagued
Past part.: plagued
Pres part.: plaguing
Collocations
the plaguebubonic plagueplagued byplagued witha plague ofplague swept through
Derivatives
plaguedplagueyplaguy
Synonyms
pestilenceepidemicscourgeafflictiontormentcurseblight
Antonyms
blessingboon
Commonly confused
plaque
EN: 'Plaque' is a flat plate, a dental buildup, or a memorial tablet; 'plague' is a deadly disease or a source of persistent trouble.
plaice
EN: 'Plaice' is a type of flatfish; 'plague' is a disease or affliction.
Spelling tips
EN: Don't confuse 'plague' (disease/trouble) with 'plaque' (flat plate/dental film). The '-ague' ending is silent, pronounced /pleɪɡ/.
💬 Examples
-
The Black Death was a devastating plague that killed millions of people in medieval Europe.
-
The plague swept through the crowded city, leaving few survivors.
-
The farmers struggled to deal with a plague of locusts that destroyed their crops.
-
The ten plagues of Egypt were described in the Book of Exodus.
-
That child is a real plague; he never stops bothering everyone.
-
She was plagued by doubts about whether she had made the right decision.
-
The region was plagued by drought for three consecutive years.
-
The reporters plagued the celebrity with questions wherever she went.