as in to afflict
to cause persistent suffering to
plagued by a cough for all of last week
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in epidemic
a widespread disease resulting in a high rate of death
the Black Death was a plague that killed about one third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of plague
Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
These ills barely plague the few remaining hunter-gatherer groups, such as the Hadza living in and around northern Tanzania’s Great Rift Valley, who live ALAN-free and are believed to be one of the best living representatives of ancestral human lifestyles.
—Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Shaun McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Wealthier countries, such as the United States, which have significant plastic consumption, do not have waste management problems like those that plague nations where the ocean plastic pollution is coming from.
—Daren Bakst, Boston Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plague
Verb
The turnovers that plagued Golden State in the preseason re-appeared after a clean game against the Nuggets.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
These ills barely plague the few remaining hunter-gatherer groups, such as the Hadza living in and around northern Tanzania’s Great Rift Valley, who live ALAN-free and are believed to be one of the best living representatives of ancestral human lifestyles.
—Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
Back-to-back championships by the Dodgers could embolden MLB and add to a chorus of fans who see a cap as a panacea for the plague of big-money teams monopolizing championships over the past decade.
—Shaun McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Wealthier countries, such as the United States, which have significant plastic consumption, do not have waste management problems like those that plague nations where the ocean plastic pollution is coming from.
—Daren Bakst, Boston Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plague
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plague
Verb
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For now, Poulsen is much more worried about how the nation’s poultry and dairy agriculture systems will withstand the virus continuing to afflict the animals these industries rely on.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
24 Oct. 2025
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Even though this can afflict regular sandwiches as well, my Picklewiches definitely suffered from it more.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Experts bemoan the loneliness epidemic and its impact on youth, mental health, longevity, and chronic pain.—
Joni Eareckson Tada,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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Known as one of the costliest wars in history, the death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers has been attributed to battle, as well as starvation, cold and a typhus epidemic that broke out.—
Taylor Nicioli,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In Nazi Germany, transgender people were persecuted, barred from public life.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
15 Oct. 2025
-
Blasphemy accusations have been used repeatedly to persecute Christians and other religious minorities in the country.—
Sean Nelson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Famines, pestilence, crusades, and war.—
Greg Grandin
September 23,
Literary Hub,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Judith is the recipient of the pestilence, Agnes stays by her side, Dad is M.I.A.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In another film with a less happy outcome, the woman who claims to be the amnesiac’s wife is an impostor who ends up torturing him.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Khaled was briefly transferred to Ofer Prison, where Adnan al-Bursh, an orthopedic surgeon who once led Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, had died in 2024, after being tortured.—
Mosab Abu Toha,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The couple welcomed a daughter, who died due to a childhood illness.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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Some messages warn of a sudden campus illness outbreak, creating a sense of urgency, while others claim that a faculty member is under investigation, prompting recipients to check documents immediately.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Made in Italy is besieged, and action must be taken to safeguard the local supply chain and its reputation.—
Martino Carrera,
Footwear News,
24 Oct. 2025
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Since its municipal establishment in 2018, Roku City has been a metropolis intermittently besieged by mythical creatures including a kraken, a big robot, and a Godzilla-like kaiju.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In addition, pests like those obnoxious mosquitoes will have longer active seasons prior to the beginning of the first freeze.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
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Grass growing up against tree trunks also potentially attracts pests like voles that may nibble on the apple tree bark.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plague.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plague. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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