pestiferous
/ˌpɛsˈtɪfəɹəs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.09 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Example Sentences
- "because he hath vouchsafed to preserue our nation from such fountains, from serpents and venemous wormes, & from al other pestiferous & contagious creatures."
- "In these solemn moments man discovers the germ of those vices, which like the Java tree shed a pestiferous vapour around--death is in the shade!"
- "and bears the body of our dear brother here departed to a hemmed-in churchyard, pestiferous and obscene, whence malignant diseases are communicated to the bodies of our dear brothers and sisters who have not departed..."
- "Wherever there is a vacant space the authorities have allowed refugees to put up pestiferous shacks, which now flank in unbroken lines the country roads leading into Rangoon, the railway tracks, and the shores of the Royal Lake."
- "No, prelate; such is thy audacious wickedness, / Thy lewd, pestiferous, and dissentious pranks, / As very infants prattle of thy pride."
- "and if any could have hanged his hindering and pestiferous council and set him free, he would have answered Joan's prayer and set her in the field."
Etymology
Mid 15th century, in sense “mischievous, pernicious”, from Latin pestifer (“bearing plague”), from pestis (“plague”) + -fer (“carrying”). By surface analysis, pesti- + -ferous (“bearing, carrying”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: pestifer
Inflected Forms
more pestiferous (comparative)
most pestiferous (superlative)