blight (blaɪt
)
Definitions
noun
- any plant disease characterized by withering and shrivelling without rotting See also potato blight
- any factor, such as bacterial attack or air pollution, that causes the symptoms of blight in plants
- a person or thing that mars or prevents growth, improvement, or prosperity
- an ugly urban district
- the state or condition of being blighted or spoilt
verb
- to cause or suffer a blight
- (tr) to frustrate or disappoint
- (tr) to spoil; destroy
Word Origin
C17: perhaps related to Old English blǣce rash; compare bleachSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
curse,
suffering,
evil,
depression,
corruption,
distress,
pollution,
misery,
plague,
hardship,
woe,
misfortune,
contamination,
adversity,
scourge,
affliction,
bane,
wretchedness,
=
disease,
plague,
pest,
fungus,
contamination,
mildew,
contagion,
infestation,
pestilence,
canker,
cancer,
Usage examples
He got off the bus, no turning back, no thunderbolt to blight him to a cinder simply by hoping for it.
, The Open Door (1989)She also tried the slurries against late blight , which led to the Irish potato famine of the 1840s.
New Scientist (1998)It is a blight on the AB Medal those efforts were not weighted more heavily.
The Advertiser, Sunday Mail (2005)We're proud to be doing our bit to catch the villains who blight Britain.
Sun, News of the World (2000)One incident in particular threatened to blight my reputation permanently in the good woman's eyes.
, ALL OF THESE PEOPLE: A Memoir (2005)