Pĕs'ti-lence, n.

n. [Fr. pestilence, Pr. pestilensa, pestilencia, Sp. pestilencia, It. pestilenza, Lat. pestilentia.] 1. That which is pestilent. I'll pour this pestilence into his ear. Shak.

2. Especially, the disease known as the plague; and hence, any contagious or infectious disease that is epidemic.
3. That which is pestilent or noxious in the world; that which breeds disturbance or vice.

Profligate habits carry pestilence into the bosom of domestic society. J. M. Mason.