Definition of infestnext
as in to plague
to spread or swarm over in a troublesome manner in desperation, we called in an exterminator because the house was infested with ants

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of infest Felix Molina has noticed the difference at a local park that used to be rat-infested. Dave Carlin, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026 By the same logic, to write anything at all is to go into the locked room of your potential and realise that the roof is leaking, there’s damp in the walls and the furniture is infested with woodworm. Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026 Luca explained that these patches had been infested by pine bark beetles, notorious evergreen-killers that feed on stressed or weakened conifers. Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026 If New World screwworm is identified in an animal in Colorado, state or federal officials will conduct an investigation to understand how the animal became infested. Sarah Tomlinson, The Conversation, 24 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for infest
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infest
Verb
  • The research team identified opportunities to improve the atomic layer etching (ALE) approach, which offers significant advantages over the conventional methods but was plagued by difficulties for practical use.
    Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Troubles from the start The groundbreaking attraction, which Six Flags has sunk millions of dollars into, was plagued with problems from the outset.
    Blake Ellis, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Injection sites can become infected, and veins can become inflamed or blocked by clots.
    Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2026
  • An 8-year-old girl in Louisiana died after she was infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba, leaving her family devastated.
    Julia Gomez, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Twelve of them, plus one former jumper, lost their lives in 1949 when the Mann Gulch Fire, in Montana, overran them.
    M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The punchline became a very unfunny one when the Wehrmacht launched its blitzkrieg campaign in May, overrunning Belgium and the Netherlands in a matter of days.
    David Szondy August 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Their only hope is for someone to crawl across the room to the spot with the most intense g-forces and turn it off.
    Keith Phipps, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Classicist and Roman plumbing expert Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow suggests that private toilets might have been cut off from the municipal sewers to prevent animals crawling up the pipes and into homes.
    Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Ukraine has been firing hundreds of drones at Russia almost nightly, hoping to overwhelm air defenses.
    ABC News, ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • My mother was never one for parting phrases, mainly because she was overwhelmed by a form of timidity that verged on self-erasure.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Infest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infest. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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