pestilence

Noun

• a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of
  • racism is a pestilence at the heart of the nation
    
  • according to him, I was the canker in their midst
    

• any epidemic disease with a high death rate

• a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  canker , plague , pest , pestis