blight

/blaɪt/noun, verb

blight is spelled B-L-I-G-H-T: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, blight means “A diseased condition suffered by a plant; specifically, a complete and rapid chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as floral organs…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of blight is blights.

How many letters and syllables are in blight?

Letters	6: B-L-I-G-H-T
Syllables	1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing	1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched	none measured in search
Sounds like	blite
Rhymes with	night quite flight bright more

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is blight?

Blight appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form in the list.

blight0.0010.010.11101001,00010,000

rarerper million words of written Englishmore common

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce blight?

US /blaɪt/

Blight has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-blight.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-blight.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with blight

Sounds like: blite (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with blight?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as blight from its last stressed vowel (/aɪt/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of blight

blights plural, present, singular, he/she/it
blighting participle, present
blighted participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does blight mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

1
A diseased condition suffered by a plant; specifically, a complete and rapid chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as floral organs, leaves, branches, or twigs, especially one caused by a fungus; a mildew, a rust, a smut.
2
The cause of such a condition, often unseen but believed to be airborne; specifically, a bacterium, a virus, or (especially) a fungus; also, an aphid which attacks fruit trees.
3
A state of cloudy, humid weather.
4
datedA diseased condition of the face or skin; specifically, bleeding under the conjunctiva of the eye, a form of skin rash, or a palsy of the face due to cold.
5
Something that impedes development or growth, or spoils any other aspect of life.
6
A rundown and unsightly condition of an urban area; also, such an area.

verb

1
To affect the fertility or growth of (a plant) with a blight (noun sense 1.1), especially one caused by a fungus; to blast, to mildew, to smut.
2
datedTo affect (a body part) with a disease.
3
To impede the development or growth of (an aspect of life); to damage, to ruin, to spoil.
Those obscene tattoos are going to blight your job prospects.
4
Of a plant: to suffer blight (noun sense 1.1).
This vine never blights.