pestiferous
/ˌpɛsˈtɪfəɹəs/
"pestiferous" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pestiferous” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - containing organisms that cause contagious diseases
Corpus desk
Index EN-pestiferous · pestiferous · English
pestiferous · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pestiferous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌpɛsˈtɪfəɹəs/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pestiferous” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pestiferous is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌpɛsˈtɪfəɹəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pestiferous, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Mid 15th century, in sense “mischievous, pernicious”, from Latin pestiferus (“bearing plague”), from pestifer, from pestis (“plague”) + ferre (“carry”) (see infer). By surface analysis, pest + -i- (“bearing, carrying”) + -ferous. The correct English form is pestiferous, spelled P-E-S-T-I-F-E-R-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1containing organisms that cause contagious diseases
- 2annoying, vexatious
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pestiferous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
because he hath vouchsafed to preserue our nation from such fountains, from serpents and venemous wormes, & from al other pestiferous & contagious creatures.
In these solemn moments man discovers the germ of those vices, which like the Java tree shed a pestiferous vapour around--death is in the shade!
Etymology
Mid 15th century, in sense “mischievous, pernicious”, from Latin pestiferus (“bearing plague”), from pestifer, from pestis (“plague”) + ferre (“carry”) (see infer). By surface analysis, pest + -i- (“bearing, carrying”) + -ferous.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.