English Explanatory Dictionary

avoid like the plague

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To evade or shun, if at all possible.

Pronunciation

/əˈvɔɪd laɪk ðə ˈpleɪɡ/ en-au-avoid like the plague.ogg

Word forms

avoid like the plague avoids like the plague avoiding like the plague avoided like the plague

Etymology

From the deadliness of the plague and the need to avoid it. Commonly attributed to similar phrases in Latin used by the priest and theologian Saint Jerome (c. 347–420) in his letters, for example: : His igitur quasi quibusdam pestibus exterminatis veniamus ad eos,[…] Avoiding these [the Remnuoth, a class of monks in Egypt] then as though they were the plague, […] : [N]egotiatorem clericum et ex inope divitem et ex ignobili gloriosum quasi quandem pestem fuge Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who is also a man of business, one who has risen from poverty to wealth, from obscurity to a high position

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