From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Pestiferous \Pes*tif"er*ous\, a. [L. pestiferus, pestifer;
pestis pest + ferre to bear: cf. F. pestif[`e]re.]
1. Pest-bearing; pestilential; noxious to health; malignant;
infectious; contagious; as, pestiferous bodies. "Poor,
pestiferous creatures begging alms." --Evelyn.
"Unwholesome and pestiferous occupations." --Burke.
[1913 Webster]
2. Noxious to peace, to morals, or to society; vicious;
hurtful; destructive; as, a pestiferous demagogue.
[1913 Webster]
Pestiferous reports of men very nobly held. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
pestiferous
adj 1: contaminated with infecting organisms; "dirty wounds";
"obliged to go into infected rooms"- Jane Austen [syn:
{dirty}, {pestiferous}]
2: likely to spread and cause an epidemic disease; "a
pestilential malignancy in the air"- Jonathan Swift; "plaguey
fevers" [syn: {pestilent}, {pestilential}, {pestiferous},
{plaguey}]
3: tending to corrupt or pervert [syn: {corruptive},
{perversive}, {pestiferous}]
4: causing irritation or annoyance; "tapping an annoying rhythm
on his glass with his fork"; "aircraft noise is particularly
bothersome near the airport"; "found it galling to have to
ask permission"; "an irritating delay"; "nettlesome
paperwork"; "a pesky mosquito"; "swarms of pestering gnats";
"a plaguey newfangled safety catch"; "a teasing and
persistent thought annoyed him"; "a vexatious child"; "it is
vexing to have to admit you are wrong" [syn: {annoying},
{bothersome}, {galling}, {irritating}, {nettlesome}, {pesky},
{pestering}, {pestiferous}, {plaguy}, {plaguey}, {teasing},
{vexatious}, {vexing}]
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