To avoid something like the plague means to stay as far away from a person, place, or situation as humanly possible, treating contact with them as entirely unacceptable. It implies absolute avoidance, carried out with extreme caution or urgency (often hyperbolic).
While some reference guides dilute the phrase to mean “avoiding something as much as possible,” the idiom is actually much stronger: it compares the subject to a deadly, contagious disease that must be quarantined at all costs.
In everyday speech, the phrase is usually employed as an intentional exaggeration (hyperbole). People rarely use it for actual physical danger. Instead, they use it to describe mild social hazards, like dodging an overly talkative coworker who will “talk your ear off,” avoiding a pushy salesperson, or skipping a disappointing restaurant. The humor and force of the idiom come from applying the apocalyptic dread of a historical pandemic to life’s minor inconveniences.
Why “Avoid Like the Plague” Is Hard to Replace
The phrase is so useful because it compresses an urgent, exaggerated warning into four simple words. Notice how flat and wordy sentences become when you remove it:
- With Idiom: “I’d avoid that mechanic like the plague if I were you.”
- Without Idiom: “I’d urge you in the strongest possible terms to stay completely away from that mechanic at all costs.”
Origin of “Avoid Like the Plague”
While similar expressions exist in classical literature, the modern phrasing traces back to Saint Jerome (c. 347–420 AD). In a famous letter of advice to a fellow monk (Letter 52, to Nepotian), Jerome wrote in Latin:
“Negotiatorem clericum, et ex inope divitem, ex ignobili gloriosum, quasi quamdam pestem cave.”
(“Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who is also a man of business, who has risen from poverty to wealth and from obscurity to fame.”)
The phrase entered general English usage in the 16th and 17th centuries during Europe’s devastating outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague, when “avoiding the plague” was not a figure of speech, but a literal matter of life and death.
Sentence Examples
“Ever since their big argument at the office party, Mark has been avoiding Sarah like the plague.”
“During peak holiday travel weekends, locals avoid the downtown strip like the plague.”
“I used to love that diner, but after getting food poisoning there last month, I’m avoiding it like the plague.”