pestilence
/ˈpɛstələns/
noun
- A deadly and widespread disease, especially a plague.
- In the old days, pestilence could wipe out entire villages in weeks.
- The medieval city was devastated by a pestilence that killed thousands.
- Historians study how pestilence shaped the population of Europe.
- Something that is harmful, destructive, or annoying on a large scale.
- Corruption in the government was a pestilence that infected every department.
- The spread of fake news online has become a modern pestilence.
- Locusts descended on the farmland like a pestilence, destroying all the crops.