Plague/pleɪɡ/ Definition 1 of 4Pro Tip 1/3Historical Disease Use 'plague' to refer to infamous disease outbreaks in history. The bubonic plague devastated Europe in the 14th century. Pro Tip 2/3Severity Context Emphasize the severity and wide effect of an outbreak with 'plague'. When cholera acted like a plague, panic ensued. Pro Tip 3/3Metaphorical Use Use 'plague' metaphorically to compare a disease to past pandemics. Some say the flu was a modern-day plague in its early years.