Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pestilence

/ˈpɛstələn(t)s/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.78 in modern English

Syllables
pes-ti-lence
IPA
/ˈpɛstələn(t)s/
14
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Anything harmful to morals or public order.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

name

The personification of pestilence, often depicted riding a white horse.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pestilentia (“plague”), from pestilens (“infected, unwholesome, noxious”); equivalent to pestilent + -ence.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈpɛstələn(t)s/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce pestilence?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɛstələn(t)s/.
What does pestilence mean?
Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating.
Where does pestilence come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce pestilence

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pestilence”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɛstələn(t)s/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pestilence”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “pestilence” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.