pestilence
part of speech
noun (a pestilence, pestilences)
meaning for a pupil
1) (old or formal) A deadly disease that spreads quickly through many people, such as the plague. tree →
2) (Bible) One of the disasters sent as punishment or warning, as in the plagues of Egypt; the rider "Pestilence" of the Book of Revelation. tree →
3) Something that is very harmful or annoying (old use). tree →
sense in the lessons
In history lessons, the Black Death of 1347-1351 was a pestilence that killed huge numbers of people in Europe. In Bible lessons and old stories, pestilence goes together with famine and war. The modern word is "epidemic" or "pandemic".
examples
- The pestilence swept through the town in 1665. tree →
- In the Bible, pestilence and famine are warnings. tree →
- The Black Death was a terrible pestilence. tree →
- People fled the city to escape the pestilence. tree →
- Rats and fleas helped spread the pestilence. tree →
- Old prayers asked God to keep people safe from pestilence. tree →
- But at last the gods afflicted the country with a grievous pestilence, which made terrible havoc among the people. tree →
note
Old-fashioned and formal; modern words: plague, epidemic, pandemic. Related: pest, pesticide. Pronounced "PES-ti-lunce".
In the corpora
- And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence.
- Before him goeth the pestilence, and fiery bolts go forth at His feet.
- He levelled a path for His anger; He spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
- That He will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
- Of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «pestilence» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.