1
: whip
especially
: one used to inflict pain or punishment
2
: an instrument of punishment or criticism
3
: a cause of wide or great affliction
scourged; scourging
scourger
noun
Synonyms
Examples of scourge in a Sentence
Noun
a city ravaged by the scourge of unemployment
The disease continues to be a scourge in the developing world.
Verb
a neighborhood scourged by crime
The prisoner was scourged with a whip.
Recent Examples on the Web
Elisabeth Egan Chase Castor, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
To counter the scourge of CIT robberies, the government set up a special task team in 2008.
—David McKenzie, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
In a culture that already faces the scourge of honor killings, such decrees seem likely to increase the prevalence of domestic violence.
—Lisa Curtis, Foreign Affairs, 28 Mar. 2024
Thousands more in the region have been touched by the scourge of addiction, which is where Botteicher comes in.
—Sarah Boden, NPR, 27 Mar. 2024
This wasn’t the first year that the Academy Awards fell on the second Sunday in March, forcing the good citizens of Hollywood to manage their hair appointments and limousine pickups around the annual scourge that is daylight-saving time.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
Such controls would come at an extremely bad time for the Chinese economy, which is already facing flagging consumer demand and falling prices amid a host of other issues from high youth unemployment to a property sector scourge.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024
The scourge of conflicts around the globe, abhorred for killing and maiming unsuspecting civilians and lingering hidden for decades, mines provide cartels with a tactical edge on the battlefield and widen the potential for collateral damage.
—Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Meta’s turn away from news and politics is partly to do with the scourge of online disinformation, but also because countries like Australia have started forcing it to pay news publishers for linking to their stories.
—Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024
Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2024
Social instability and post-pandemic economic pressures fueled surges in migration across the world.
2023 will probably be the hottest year on record, with heat waves scourging every continent, accompanied by other extreme climactic events.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023
The tragedy inspired a poem by twelve-year-old Benjamin Franklin and a funeral oration by the scourging Puritan clergyman Cotton Mather.
—Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
While the kinds of extreme heat events like the wildfires that scourge many parts of the world in hot weather are still very rare in the UK, this report underlines how much temperature changes affect our daily lives—and are likely to do so more in the future.
—Cassie Werber, Quartz, 23 Jan. 2023
Like its American rival, the Tiger was initially intended to scourge Soviet tank battalions, but was refashioned for multi-role capabilities.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 9 Mar. 2023
Of all the fearful diseases that scourge the human race, this ranks among those that are justly feared most.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 2 Nov. 2021
Prior to Christ's crucifixion, Roman soldiers ordered him to be scourged.
—Anthony Leonardi, Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2020
Yet what’s most original in the film is Mercier’s scathing and self-scourging performance (and there’s no gainsaying the importance of Yoav’s outfit, a collarless saffron-yellow coat).
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2019
Noun
Not to mention the scourge of every bookstore: surreptitious photo-snappers who later shopped online.
—Elisabeth Egan Chase Castor, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
To counter the scourge of CIT robberies, the government set up a special task team in 2008.
—David McKenzie, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
In a culture that already faces the scourge of honor killings, such decrees seem likely to increase the prevalence of domestic violence.
—Lisa Curtis, Foreign Affairs, 28 Mar. 2024
Thousands more in the region have been touched by the scourge of addiction, which is where Botteicher comes in.
—Sarah Boden, NPR, 27 Mar. 2024
This wasn’t the first year that the Academy Awards fell on the second Sunday in March, forcing the good citizens of Hollywood to manage their hair appointments and limousine pickups around the annual scourge that is daylight-saving time.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
Such controls would come at an extremely bad time for the Chinese economy, which is already facing flagging consumer demand and falling prices amid a host of other issues from high youth unemployment to a property sector scourge.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024
The scourge of conflicts around the globe, abhorred for killing and maiming unsuspecting civilians and lingering hidden for decades, mines provide cartels with a tactical edge on the battlefield and widen the potential for collateral damage.
—Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Meta’s turn away from news and politics is partly to do with the scourge of online disinformation, but also because countries like Australia have started forcing it to pay news publishers for linking to their stories.
—Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
Sylvia scourges herself with an intensity that would make hairshirted flagellants seem soft.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2024
Social instability and post-pandemic economic pressures fueled surges in migration across the world.
2023 will probably be the hottest year on record, with heat waves scourging every continent, accompanied by other extreme climactic events.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023
The tragedy inspired a poem by twelve-year-old Benjamin Franklin and a funeral oration by the scourging Puritan clergyman Cotton Mather.
—Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
While the kinds of extreme heat events like the wildfires that scourge many parts of the world in hot weather are still very rare in the UK, this report underlines how much temperature changes affect our daily lives—and are likely to do so more in the future.
—Cassie Werber, Quartz, 23 Jan. 2023
Like its American rival, the Tiger was initially intended to scourge Soviet tank battalions, but was refashioned for multi-role capabilities.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 9 Mar. 2023
Of all the fearful diseases that scourge the human race, this ranks among those that are justly feared most.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 2 Nov. 2021
Prior to Christ's crucifixion, Roman soldiers ordered him to be scourged.
—Anthony Leonardi, Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2020
Yet what’s most original in the film is Mercier’s scathing and self-scourging performance (and there’s no gainsaying the importance of Yoav’s outfit, a collarless saffron-yellow coat).
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scourge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Scourge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scourge. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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scourge
1 of 2 noun1
2
: someone or something that is an instrument of punishment or criticism
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