infest
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infest
- /ɪnˈfɛst/
Rhymes with -ɛst
Where it comes from
From Middle English infesten, from Old French infester (“to infest”), from Latin īnfestō (“assail, molest”, verb), from īnfestus (“hostile”), of uncertain origin.
verb infests · infesting · infested
- To inhabit a place in unpleasantly large numbers; to plague, harass. Insects are infesting my basement!
- To invade a host plant or animal.
adjective more infest · most infest
- Mischievous; hurtful; harassing. […] The swarme of scaled snakes Did make an yrksome noyce to heare, as she her tresses shakes. About her shoulders some did craule, some trayling downe her brest, Did hisse, and spit out poison greene, and spirt with tongues infest.
noun
- Hostility. 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Book II, Canto Eleven, Stanza 32, Hackett, 2006, p. 191, Like as a fire, the which in hollow cave Hath long bene underkept, and down supprest, With murmurous disdayne doth inly rave, And grudge, in so streight prison to be prest, At last breakes forth with fu
Thesaurus
Translations
Talk about this word "infest." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/infest. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. infest. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/infest "infest." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/infest.Cite this
@misc{infest_2026,
title = {infest},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/infest},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
