pestilence
pes·ti·lence/ˈpɛstələn(t)s/noun
pestilence is spelled P-E-S-T-I-L-E-N-C-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables (pes·ti·lence). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pestilence means “Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pestilence is pestilences.
How many letters and syllables are in pestilence?
| Letters | 10: P-E-S-T-I-L-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pes·ti·lence |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,943rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pestilence?
Pestilence appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pestilence?
- /ˈpɛstələn(t)s/
- /ˈpɛstɪlən(t)s/
- /ˈpɛstlən(t)s/
Pestilence has 3 syllables, split pes·ti·lence in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pestilence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pestilence
- pestilences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pestilence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating.
- 2
archaicAnything harmful to morals or public order.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pestilence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense any highly contagious epidemic disease:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | peste |
| German | Pest, Seuche |
| Portuguese | peste |
| Spanish | pestilencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pestilence come from?
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pestilentia (“plague”), from pestilens (“infected, unwholesome, noxious”); equivalent to pestilent + -ence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).