Definition of BLIGHT

blight

Meanings

Plural: blight, blighted, blights

Noun

  • a state or condition being blighted
  • any plant disease resulting in withering without rotting
  • A diseased condition suffered by a plant; specifically, a complete and rapid chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as floral organs, leaves, branches, or twigs, especially one caused by a fungus; a mildew, a rust, a smut.
  • The cause of such a condition, often unseen but believed to be airborne; specifically, a bacterium, a virus, or (especially) a fungus; also, an aphid which attacks fruit trees.
  • A state of cloudy, humid weather.
  • A diseased condition of the face or skin; specifically, bleeding under the conjunctiva of the eye, a form of skin rash, or a palsy of the face due to cold.
  • Something that impedes development or growth, or spoils any other aspect of life.
  • A rundown and unsightly condition of an urban area; also, such an area.

Verb

  • cause to suffer a blight
    • "Too much rain may blight the garden with mold"
  • To affect the fertility or growth of (a plant) with a blight (noun sense 1.1), especially one caused by a fungus; to blast, to mildew, to smut.
  • To affect (a body part) with a disease.
  • To impede the development or growth of (an aspect of life); to damage, to ruin, to spoil.
  • Of a plant: to suffer blight (noun sense 1.1).

Origin / Etymology

The etymology of the noun is uncertain; suggested derivations include the following:
* possibly related to Middle English blichening (“mildew or rust on grain, blight”), possibly related to Middle English bliken (“to gleam, shine; to turn pale”), from Old English blīcan (“to shine, sparkle”) (whence modern English blike (“(obsolete) to gleam, shine”); also compare Old Norse blikna (“to grow pallid”)), from Proto-West Germanic *blīkan (“to shine”), from Proto-Germanic *blīkaną (“to gleam, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”); or
* since sense 2.2 is a diseased condition of the skin, possibly from Middle English *bleighte, *bleȝte, from Old English blǣcþa (“leprosy”) (related to blǣċe (“an itching skin-disease”) and blǣċo (“leprosy; paleness”)), from Proto-West Germanic *blaik, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *blaikaz (“pale; white”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”). If so, the word is a doublet of bleak.
The verb is derived from the noun.

Synonyms

ball up, blight, blighten, botch, bugger up, bungle, crab, dirty, disrupt, disturb, fuck up, jack up, mar, mess up, mishandle, mommick, plague, pollute, put a crimp in, queer, ruin, screw up, sour, spoil, stain, turn upside down, undo, upset, upset the applecart, vitiate

Scrabble Score: 12

blight is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
blight is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
blight is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

blight is a valid Words With Friends word