[syn: invade, overrun, infest]
3. live on or in a host, as of parasites;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Infest \In*fest"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Infested; p. pr. & vb.
n. Infesting.] [L. infestare, fr. infestus disturbed,
hostile, troublesome; in in, against + the root of defendere:
cf. F. infester. See Defend.]
To trouble greatly by numbers or by frequency of presence; to
disturb; to annoy; to frequent and molest or harass; as,
fleas infest dogs and cats; a sea infested with pirates.
[1913 Webster]
To poison vermin that infest his plants. --Cowper.
[1913 Webster]
These, said the genius, are envy, avarice,
superstition, love, with the like cares and passions
that infest human life. --Addison.
[1913 Webster]
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away. --Longfellow.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Infest \In*fest"\, a. [L. infestus. See Infest, v. t.]
Mischievous; hurtful; harassing. [Obs.] --Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
infest
v 1: invade in great numbers; "the roaches infested our kitchen"
[syn: infest, overrun]
2: occupy in large numbers or live on a host; "the Kudzu plant
infests much of the South and is spreading to the North"
[syn: invade, overrun, infest]
3: live on or in a host, as of parasites
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
18 Moby Thesaurus words for "infest":
beset, crawl with, creep with, flood, infiltrate, inundate, invade,
overrun, overspread, overswarm, penetrate, permeate, pervade,
plague, ravage, swarm, swarm over, swarm with