plagued 1 of 2

adjective

as in tormented

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plagued

2 of 2

verb

past tense of plague
as in afflicted
to cause persistent suffering to plagued by a cough for all of last week

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of plagued
Verb
They were plagued by mistakes throughout the first four games. — ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026 Inadequate funding and the resultant low pay for correctional officers, when compared to other law enforcement agencies, have plagued the bureau for years. — Scott Peyton, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026 Based on its survey work, Morgan Stanley believes the issues that plagued the second quarter was macro related and not something structurally tied to the TJX brand. — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026 The years that followed were plagued by stagnation and dissipation of any peace process, regular wars with Hamas, and a heavily nationalist government in Israel. — Dahlia Scheindlin, Time, 7 Oct. 2026 Offensive woes and pitching injuries have plagued the on-field product. — Kansas City Star, 6 Oct. 2026 These were the type of penalties that plagued the Dolphins, which finished with nine infractions for 55 yards, all day. — Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026 Fashion’s relationship with art is a conundrum that’s plagued the minds of some of its greatest auteurs. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 3 Oct. 2026 Taking the Long Way was never going to be country enough for some, but that was something the Chicks were always plagued with, even in their early busking days on the streets of Dallas. — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plagued
  1. frustrated
  2. afflicted
  3. aggravated
  4. persecuted
  5. tortured
  6. besieged
  7. tested
  8. cursed
Adjective
  • The 22-year-old was visibly frustrated and began to yell at his teammates.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Gen Z has become decidedly frustrated with the often prohibitive costs of higher education.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of frustrated
Verb
  • Love contains the seeds of its own destruction—the cruelty and self-absorption that turns the afflicted against one another, and themselves.
    — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
  • While the epicenter was located in Nantou County in central Taiwan, serious damage afflicted residents across the island as roads buckled, bridges collapsed and landslides destroyed everything in their path.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of afflicted
Adjective
  • The court accepted his plea and found Williams guilty of two counts of aggravated endangering a child, according to a news release from the office of the Leavenworth County Attorney.
    — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The driver of the pickup truck, 21-year-old Jesse David Lovato, has since been arrested and is facing charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault, according to the outlets.
    — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of aggravated
Verb
  • Those governments provide assurances that people won’t be persecuted or tortured, federal attorneys said.
    — Lindsay Whitehurst, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Also, some immigration cases involve people seeking asylum because they are being persecuted by a foreign government and releasing a person’s full name could be considered sensitive or even dangerous.
    — Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of persecuted
Adjective
  • Earlier works tinging with an obscure kind of darkness that hinted at tortured psychological states have all but disappeared from her work and living quarters in lieu of an elegant old world charm.
    — Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • But this leads to secrets revealed, lies told and tortured confrontations, not just with others but most intensely with himself.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of tortured
Verb
  • The settlers who carried out the attack in Jalud overnight are the same group who besieged the home of a Palestinian-American in the neighboring village of Qusra last month, local residents say.
    — Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026
  • There has been a spate of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, and the village of Qusra has been besieged by Israeli settlers for weeks.
    — F. Brinley Bruton, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of besieged
Adjective
  • Each application is pre-tested and integrated into the platform to reduce deployment time and improve reliability for end users.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026
  • But summer back in New York, amid the fug of the city, requires a return to a tested and true formula.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 22 June 2025
Definition of tested
Verb
  • Rice chooses us, just as Lestat chooses those who are privileged or cursed enough to become his companions instead of merely his victims.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The film’s plot involves a superstitious young woman named Hayat who is convinced she’s cursed and wants to end her life.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of cursed

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Cite this Entry

“Plagued.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plagued. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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