What does peste in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word peste in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use peste in French.

The word peste in French means plague, nuisance, scourge, curse, be between a rock and a hard place, avoid like the plague, a pox on, rinderpest, cattle plague, bubonic plague, little pest, little nuisance. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word peste

plague

nom féminin (maladie très contagieuse)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La peste fit des ravages au Moyen Âge.
The plague had devastating effects in the Middle Ages.

nuisance

nom féminin (familier, figuré (personne méchante)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Quelle peste, le voisin, à toujours dire des méchancetés sur les autres !
What a nuisance the neighbour is; he's always criticising other people!

scourge

nom féminin (figuré (idéologie néfaste) (figurative)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Cette idéologie nationaliste est une peste.

curse

verbe transitif indirect (exprimer son mécontentement)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Il peste contre le mauvais temps.
He is cursing the bad weather.

be between a rock and a hard place

locution verbale (figuré (choisir entre deux maux) (US, figurative)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

avoid like the plague

locution verbale (éviter [qch] au maximum)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

a pox on

interjection (maudit soit) (dated or humorous)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

rinderpest, cattle plague

nom féminin (maladie virale animale) (disease)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

bubonic plague

nom féminin (maladie pustuleuse) (bacterial disease)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

little pest, little nuisance

nom féminin (personne énervante et méchante)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Ce gamin est une véritable petite peste, qui n'arrête pas d'embêter ses camarades.

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So now that you know more about the meaning of peste in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

Do you know about French

French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.