Definition of BLIGHT (original) (raw)
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)
b
: an organism (such as an insect or a fungus) that causes blight
2
: something that frustrates plans or hopes
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
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
Synonyms
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Duggan drew nearly $1 billion of federal money into the city, using it on housing, blight remediation, recreational and infrastructure improvements. —Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press, 4 Dec. 2024 In recent years, this magnificent tree has suffered from blight, and even with thoughtful pruning its future is in question. —Amanda M. Faison, Outside Online, 22 Sep. 2024
They have been blighted by injuries and are well below their best. —Sam Lee, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025 Returning from a loan spell at Brighton last season, the 22-year-old initially impressed Flick in preseason training but then fell to a foot injury that once more blighted his progress. —Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for blight 
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
Time Traveler
The first known use of blight was in 1578
Dictionary Entries Near blight
Cite this Entry
“Blight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blight. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
Share
More from Merriam-Webster on blight
Last Updated: 10 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences
Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!