▪ I. blighting, vbl. n.
(ˈblaɪtɪŋ)
The action of the vb. blight; the fact of being blighted.
| 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 214 Very much differing from Mil-dews is the blighting of Corn, the Mil-dews..happening only in dry Summers, when on the contrary Blighting happens in wet. 1693 Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. Dict., Bligh[t]ing is said of Flowers or Blossoms, that shed or fall without knitting for Fruit. |
▪ II. ˈblighting, ppl. a.
[f. as prec. + -ing2.]
1. That blights; blasting, withering.
| 1796 Coleridge ‘Pang more sharp’ 50 One pang more blighting-keen than hope betrayed. 1805 Southey Madoc in W. ix, Cold winds..and blighting seasons. 1850 Prescott Peru II. 351 Pining..under the blighting malaria. |
2. = blighted ppl. a. 2. slang.
| 1916 ‘Boyd Cable’ Action Front 187 There's that blighting maxim again. 1934 T. S. Eliot Rock i. 32 'E showed up the 'ole blightin' swindle. |