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 ;

2. (

• plague ,
• pestilence ,
• pest

) any epidemic disease with a high death rate ;

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" ;