Emily Dickinson Lexicon

IN-FEST', v.t. [Fr. infester; L. infesto.]

To trouble greatly; to disturb; to annoy; to harass. In warm weather, men are infested with musketoes and gnats; flies infest horses and cattle. The sea is often infested with pirates. Small parties of the enemy infest the coast. These, said the genius, are envy, avarice, superstition, love, with the like cares and passions that infest human life. – Addison.