English noun: pest | |||
1. | pest (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 | pestilence, pestis, plague | ||
Broader (hypernym) | epidemic disease | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | bubonic plague, glandular plague, pestis bubonica, plague pneumonia, pneumonic plague, pulmonic plague, septicemic plague | ||
2. | pest (state) any epidemic disease with a high death rate | ||
Synonyms | pestilence, plague | ||
Broader (hypernym) | epidemic disease | ||
3. | pest (person) a persistently annoying person | ||
Synonyms | blighter, cuss, gadfly, pesterer | ||
Broader (hypernym) | persecutor, tormenter, tormentor | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | nudnick, nudnik | ||
4. | pest (animal) any unwanted and destructive insect or other animal that attacks food or crops or livestock etc. | ||
Samples | He sprayed the garden to get rid of pests. Many pests have developed resistance to the common pesticides. | ||
Broader (hypernym) | animal, animate being, beast, brute, creature, fauna | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | vermin | ||