Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun pestilence

3 senses of pestilence

Sense 1
plague, pestilence, pest, pestis -- (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)
       => epidemic disease -- (any infectious disease that develops and spreads rapidly to many people)

Sense 2
plague, pestilence, pest -- (any epidemic disease with a high death rate)
       => epidemic disease -- (any infectious disease that develops and spreads rapidly to many people)

Sense 3
pestilence, canker -- (a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of; "racism is a pestilence at the heart of the nation"; "according to him, I was the canker in their midst")
       => influence -- (a cognitive factor that tends to have an effect on what you do; "her wishes had a great influence on his thinking")