# pestilence

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɛstələn(t)s/ · frequency rank #38,095

## Definitions
1. Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating.
2. Anything harmful to morals or public order.

## Etymology
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pestilentia (“plague”), from pestilens (“infected, unwholesome, noxious”); equivalent to pestilent + -ence.

## Common misspellings (16)
`epstilence`, `pesitlence`, `pesstilence`, `pestielnce`, `pestilance`, `pestilecne`, `pestilencce`, `pestilenec`, `pestilennce`, `pestillence`, `pestilnece`, `pestlience`, `pesttilence`, `petsilence`, `ppestilence`, `psetilence`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pestilence