Adjacent Words

Infest definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INFEST', v.t. [L. infesto.] To trouble greatly; to disturb; to annoy; to harass. In warm weather, men ar infested with musketoes and gnats; flies infest horses and cattle. The sea is often infested with pirates. Small parties of the enemy infest the coast.
These, said the genius, are envy, avarice, superstition,love, with the like cares and passions that infest human life.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: invade in great numbers; "the roaches infested our kitchen" [syn: infest, overrun]
2: occupy in large numbers or live on a host; "the Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North" [syn: invade, overrun, infest]
3: live on or in a host, as of parasites

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: French infester, from Latin infestare, from infestus hostile Date: 1602 1. to spread or swarm in or over in a troublesome manner <a slum infested with crime> <shark-infested waters> 2. to live in or on as a parasite • infestant noun • infestation noun • infester noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (of harmful persons or things, esp. vermin or disease) overrun (a place) in large numbers. Derivatives: infestation n. Etymology: ME f. F infester or L infestare assail f. infestus hostile

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Infest In*fest", a. [L. infestus. See Infest, v. t.] Mischievous; hurtful; harassing. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Infest In*fest", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Infested; p. pr. & vb. n. Infesting.] [L. infestare, fr. infestus disturbed, hostile, troublesome; in in, against + the root of defendere: cf. F. infester. See Defend.] To trouble greatly by numbers or by frequency of presence; to disturb; to annoy; to frequent and molest or harass; as, fleas infest dogs and cats; a sea infested with pirates. To poison vermin that infest his plants. --Cowper. These, said the genius, are envy, avarice, superstition, love, with the like cares and passions that infest human life. --Addison. And the cares, that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And as silently steal away. --Longfellow.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(infests, infesting, infested) 1. When creatures such as insects or rats infest plants or a place, they are present in large numbers and cause damage. ...pests like aphids which infest cereal crops. VERB: V n • infested The prison is infested with rats... ADJ: oft ADJ with n • -infested ...the rat-infested slums where the plague flourished. COMB in ADJ • infestation (infestations) The premises were treated for cockroach infestation... N-VAR: oft n N, N of n 2. If you say that people or things you disapprove of or regard as dangerous are infesting a place, you mean that there are large numbers of them in that place. Crime and drugs are infesting the inner cities. = overrun VERB: V n [disapproval] • infested The road further south was infested with bandits. ADJ • -infested ...the shark-infested waters of the Great Barrier Reef. COMB in ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Throng, overrun, beset, take complete possession of, swarm in. 2. Disturb, annoy, vex, tease, harass, plague, torment, trouble, molest, worry.

Moby Thesaurus

beset, crawl with, creep with, flood, infiltrate, inundate, invade, overrun, overspread, overswarm, penetrate, permeate, pervade, plague, ravage, swarm, swarm over, swarm with