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
TIME, 23 Oct. 2023
That aggressive approach has made Mr. Chopra a hero to consumer advocates and a scourge to the banks and other lenders his agency oversees.
—Stacy Cowley, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2023
But their data links were frequently taken offline by Russian jammers, the scourge of pilots like Podtikov.
—Samanth Subramanian, WIRED, 5 Oct. 2023
The killing of three Black people at a Dollar General store in Florida Saturday afternoon was the latest act of American gun violence motivated by racist ideology, a national scourge that federal officials have described as one of the most lethal forms of modern domestic terrorism.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 27 Aug. 2023
Unauthorized, pre-release leaks of high-profile albums are the scourge of the digital-music age.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 27 Oct. 2023
Trump also shared Greenfield’s Instagram details, effectively ushering a scourge of far-right sympathizers onto her social media accounts.
—Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 27 Oct. 2023
In my view, there are more than enough problems and deadly conflicts in the world whose solutions merit the award of the Nobel Peace Prize as a reflection of its original intent – to acknowledge attempts aimed at ending the scourge of war and building a sustainable peace.
—Andrew Blum, The Conversation, 4 Oct. 2023
The scourge of toxic blooms is becoming increasingly problematic worldwide, in part due to the climate crisis.
—Chris Baraniuk, WIRED, 11 Sep. 2023
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
After a wet few years in the Great Lakes basin, the Lake Michigan water levels tied a record July high from 1986 — and that’s less than six years after record low levels scourged the region in 2013.
—Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2019
Powerful air armadas scourged German defenses, with 750 to 1000 Flying Fortresses and Liberators mauling bridges, railroad targets and airfields in an arc 100 to 150 miles south of the beachhead.
—Houston Chronicle, 9 June 2019
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Noun
Bursting with Irish Catholic earnestness, Tim dreams of helping his idol Joe McCarthy (Chris Bauer) save the world from the scourge of Soviet communism.
—TIME, 23 Oct. 2023
That aggressive approach has made Mr. Chopra a hero to consumer advocates and a scourge to the banks and other lenders his agency oversees.
—Stacy Cowley, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2023
But their data links were frequently taken offline by Russian jammers, the scourge of pilots like Podtikov.
—Samanth Subramanian, WIRED, 5 Oct. 2023
The killing of three Black people at a Dollar General store in Florida Saturday afternoon was the latest act of American gun violence motivated by racist ideology, a national scourge that federal officials have described as one of the most lethal forms of modern domestic terrorism.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 27 Aug. 2023
Unauthorized, pre-release leaks of high-profile albums are the scourge of the digital-music age.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 27 Oct. 2023
Trump also shared Greenfield’s Instagram details, effectively ushering a scourge of far-right sympathizers onto her social media accounts.
—Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 27 Oct. 2023
In my view, there are more than enough problems and deadly conflicts in the world whose solutions merit the award of the Nobel Peace Prize as a reflection of its original intent – to acknowledge attempts aimed at ending the scourge of war and building a sustainable peace.
—Andrew Blum, The Conversation, 4 Oct. 2023
The scourge of toxic blooms is becoming increasingly problematic worldwide, in part due to the climate crisis.
—Chris Baraniuk, WIRED, 11 Sep. 2023
Verb
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
After a wet few years in the Great Lakes basin, the Lake Michigan water levels tied a record July high from 1986 — and that’s less than six years after record low levels scourged the region in 2013.
—Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2019
Powerful air armadas scourged German defenses, with 750 to 1000 Flying Fortresses and Liberators mauling bridges, railroad targets and airfields in an arc 100 to 150 miles south of the beachhead.
—Houston Chronicle, 9 June 2019
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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.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French escorge, from escorger to whip, from Vulgar Latin *excorrigiare, from Latin ex- + corrigia thong, whip
First Known Use
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of scourge was
in the 13th century
Articles Related to scourge
Dictionary Entries Near scourge
Cite this Entry
“Scourge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scourge. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
scourge
1 of 2 noun1
2
: someone or something that is an instrument of punishment or criticism
More from Merriam-Webster on scourge
Nglish: Translation of scourge for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of scourge for Arabic Speakers
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