pestilence

pestilence is a Noun

Definition:

[1] Specifically, the disease known as the plague; hence, any contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating. The pestilence That walketh in darkness. Ps. xci. 6.

[2] Fig.: That which is pestilent, noxious, or pernicious to the moral character of great numbers. I`ll pour this pestilence into his ear. Shak. Pestilence weed (Bot.), the butterbur coltsfoot (Petasites vulgaris), so called because formerly considered a remedy for the plague. Dr. Prior.