blight

1 of 2

noun

ˈblīt 

1

botany

a

: a disease or injury of plants marked by the formation of lesions, withering, and death of parts (such as leaves and tubers)

potato blight

b

: an organism (such as an insect or a fungus) that causes blight

2

: something that frustrates plans or hopes

the blight of poverty

an abandoned factory that was a blight on the neighborhood

3

: something that impairs or destroys

… censorship … has brought under its blight Ireland's greatest poets, dramatists, and scholars.

—Paul Blanshard

4

: a deteriorated condition

urban blight

blight

2 of 2

verb

blighted; blighting; blights

transitive verb

1

botany : to affect (a plant) with a disease or injury marked by the formation of lesions, withering, and death of parts (such as leaves and tubers) : to affect with blight (see blight entry 1 sense 1)

The apple trees were blighted by fungus.

2

: to impair the quality or effect of

the condition that has blighted his son's life

—Patricia Guthrie

intransitive verb

botany : to suffer from or become affected with blight

The potatoes blighted.

Synonyms

Noun

• blemish
• blotch
• defect
• deformity
• disfigurement
• excrescence
• excrescency
• fault
• flaw
• imperfection
• mar
• mark
• pockmark
• scar

Examples of blight in a Sentence

Noun

the city's spreading urban blight

the expanding urban sprawl is a blight on the countryside

Verb

Builders blighted the land with malls and parking lots.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Flower blight or petal blight is also caused by a fungal pathogen. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024

In the years since citrus greening took hold, the ripple effects of the blight have compounded with an ever-present barrage of hurricanes, floods, and drought threatening growers. —Ayurella Horn-Muller, WIRED, 3 Aug. 2024

Verb

Bawumia’s manifesto also boasts of providing stable electricity for almost eight years after lingering power cuts that blighted Mahama’s first stint in office between 2012 and 2017. —Nimi Princewill, CNN, 6 Dec. 2024

Their current record is blighted by the 1-0 defeat to Porto in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 game, sticking out like a sore thumb amid their flawless Premier League form. —Nick Miller, The Athletic, 10 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

of obscure origin

Verb

verbal derivative of blight entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1695, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing blight

• chestnut blight
• fire blight
• late blight
• potato blight

Kids Definition

blight

1 of 2 noun

ˈblīt 

1

a

: a disease of plants marked by withering and death of parts (as leaves)

b

: an organism that causes blight

2

a

: something that harms or destroys

b

: a damaged or worsened condition

urban blight

blight

2 of 2 verb

1

: to affect with blight

2

: to damage or worsen the quality or condition of

slums and blighted areas

3

: to suffer from or become affected with blight

Medical Definition

blight

noun

ˈblīt 

Australian

: an inflammation of the eye in which the eyelids discharge a thick mucous substance that often seals them up for days and minute granular pustules develop inside the lid

called also sandy blight