Definition of "blight" []

• Any of numerous plant diseases resulting in sudden conspicuous wilting and dying of affected parts, especially young, growing tissues. (noun)
• The condition or causative agent, such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus, that results in blight. (noun)
• An extremely adverse environmental condition, such as air pollution. (noun)
• Something that impairs growth, withers hopes and ambitions, or impedes progress and prosperity. (noun)
• To cause (a plant, for example) to undergo blight. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "These questions should be well considered, particularly the last one, as it is a well-known fact that in a general way the term blight is frequently used for various injuries or diseases of plants causing the whole or parts to wither and die, whether occasioned by insects, fungi, or atmospheric influences."
• "If he could have seen the expression on Edith's face the night previous, as she looked on his besotted father, he would have cursed more bitterly than ever what he termed the blight of his life."
• "“You don’t have to answer, but you might want to churn over if the word blight means anything to you all.”"