English noun: plague | |||
1. | plague (state) 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 | ||
Synonyms | pest, pestilence, pestis | ||
Broader (hypernym) | epidemic disease | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | bubonic plague, glandular plague, pestis bubonica, plague pneumonia, pneumonic plague, pulmonic plague, septicemic plague | ||
2. | plague (state) any epidemic disease with a high death rate | ||
Synonyms | pest, pestilence | ||
Broader (hypernym) | epidemic disease | ||
3. | plague (group) a swarm of insects that attack plants | ||
Samples | A plague of grasshoppers. | ||
Synonyms | infestation | ||
Broader (hypernym) | cloud, swarm | ||
4. | plague (event) any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God) | ||
Broader (hypernym) | calamity, cataclysm, catastrophe, disaster, tragedy | ||
5. | plague (cognition) an annoyance | ||
Samples | Those children are a damn plague. | ||
Broader (hypernym) | annoyance, bother, botheration, infliction, pain, pain in the ass, pain in the neck | ||
Domain usage | colloquialism | ||
English verb: plague | |||
1. | plague (weather) cause to suffer a blight | ||
Samples | Too much rain may blight the garden with mold. | ||
Synonyms | blight | ||
Pattern of use | Something ----s somebody. Something ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | afflict, smite | ||
2. | plague (emotion) annoy continually or chronically | ||
Samples | He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked. This man harasses his female co-workers. | ||
Examples | Sam cannot plague Sue | ||
Synonyms | beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, provoke | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s somebody. Something ----s somebody | ||
Broader (hypernym) | annoy, bother, chafe, devil, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, nark, nettle, rag, rile, vex | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, goad, haze, needle, rag, torment | ||