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infest

verb

Simple meaning

Occupy in large numbers or live on a host.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihnfehst

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪnˈfɛst

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Occupy in large numbers or live on a host

    “The Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North.”

  2. pathologyof a parasite

    To invade a host plant or animal.

  3. transitive

    To inhabit a place in unpleasantly large numbers; to plague, harass.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Occupy in large numbers or live on a host

Used this way, infest is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“The Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use infest

  • “The roaches infested our kitchen.”verb
  • “The Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

now infestspecies infestinfest humanscommonly infestoccasionally infestsometimes infest

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.