Meaning
plague
- pest, nuisance (person)
- urchin (mischievous child)
- stench, unbearable smell
In a sentence
Da piccolo ero una peste in classe.
As a child, I was a little terror in class.
Nel Trecento la peste provocò milioni di vittime in tutta Europa.
In the fourteenth century, the plague caused millions of casualties across Europe.
In cucina c'è una peste tremenda.
There’s a terrible stink in the kitchen.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| peste | feminine · singular |
| pesti | feminine · plural |
Usage notes
- For the disease, peste is mostly historical or literary; modern everyday Italian more often names specific illnesses directly.
- Calling someone una peste is informal and often playful, especially about a badly behaved child, not always seriously insulting.
- For a bad smell, use it colloquially: Che peste! More neutral choices are puzza or cattivo odore.