in·fest ( n-f st )tr.v. in·fest·ed, in·fest·ing, in·fests 1. To inhabit or overrun in numbers or quantities large enough to be harmful, threatening, or obnoxious: rats infesting the sewers; streets that were infested with drugs. 2. To live as a parasite in or on: livestock that were infested with tapeworms.
[Middle English infesten, to distress, from Old French infester, from Latin nfest re, from nfestus, hostile; see gwhedh- in Indo-European roots.]
in fes·ta tion n. in·fest er n. |
in•fes•ta•tion (ˌɪn fɛˈsteɪ ʃən) n. 1. the act of infesting or the state of being infested.
2. a harassing or troublesome invasion: an infestation of termites.
[1375–1425]
Infestationthe condition of being infested by acarids or mites.
a substance or preparation for killing mites or ticks.
a substance for killing mites. — miticidal, adj.
an agent or preparation for killing tapeworms. — taeniacidal, teniacidal, adj.
infestation by tapeworms.
the state or process of being infested with worms or vermin.
Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | infestation - the state of being invaded or overrun by parasitesfascioliasis, fasciolosis - infestation with the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica; liver damage sometimes occurs; related to liver rot fasciolopsiasis - infestation with the large intestinal fluke Fasciolopsis buski; common in eastern Asia dracunculiasis, Guinea worm, Guinea worm disease - a painful and debilitating infestation contracted by drinking stagnant water contaminated with Guinea worm larvae that can mature inside a human's abdomen until the worm emerges through a painful blister in the person's skin enterobiasis - an infestation with or a resulting infection caused by the pinworm Enterobius vermicularis; occurs especially in children bilharzia, bilharziasis, schistosomiasis - an infestation with or a resulting infection caused by a parasite of the genus Schistosoma; common in the tropics and Far East; symptoms depend on the part of the body infected myositis trichinosa, trichiniasis, trichinosis - infestation by trichina larvae that are transmitted by eating inadequately cooked meat (especially pork); larvae migrate from the intestinal tract to the muscles where they become encysted fullness - the condition of being filled to capacity ascariasis - infestation of the human intestine with Ascaris roundworms coccidiosis - (veterinary medicine) infestation with coccidia myiasis - infestation of the body by the larvae of flies (usually through a wound or other opening) or any disease resulting from such infestation onchocerciasis, river blindness - infestation with slender threadlike roundworms (filaria) deposited under the skin by the bite of black fleas; when the eyes are involved it can result in blindness; common in Africa and tropical America opisthorchiasis - infestation with flukes obtained from eating raw fish; common in eastern Asia trichuriasis - infestation by a roundworm; common in tropical areas with poor sanitation |
| 2. | infestation - a swarm of insects that attack plants; "a plague of grasshoppers"swarm, cloud - a group of many things in the air or on the ground; "a swarm of insects obscured the light"; "clouds of blossoms"; "it discharged a cloud of spores" |
Translations
infestation [ˌɪnfɛˈsteɪʃən] n (by insects, rats) →
infestation f in·fes·ta·tion n. infestación, invasión del organismo por parásitos.