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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
The pic has Lange playing the emotionally troubled and addiction-plagued matriarch Mary Tyrone. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026 When officials set out last year to conduct the regular revaluation, however, their efforts were plagued by low response rates and incomplete data. — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 24 Sep. 2026 The matchup represents the Panthers’ easiest game on the schedule and gives them an opportunity to clean up the issues that have plagued them early in the season before conference play begins. — Alejandro Hernandez, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026 The lawsuit alleges the project was plagued with sloppy workmanship and insufficient oversight. — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026 But the same issues that plagued him a year ago — interceptions and an inability to see the field — have carried over to this season. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 23 Sep. 2026 That night, King was plagued with a sweat-inducing nightmare about his young son. — Nicholas Derenzo, Travel + Leisure, 23 Sep. 2026 The Horned Frogs were plagued by first-half miscues in the secondary against North Carolina and Grambling State, but mostly avoided those issues in Saturday’s 31-7 win over Arkansas State. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Sep. 2026 With local cops, plagued by rumors of departmental misdeeds, looking for a peaceful solution and federal authorities contemplating extreme action, the situation escalates. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plagued
  1. frustrated
  2. afflicted
  3. aggravated
  4. persecuted
  5. tortured
  6. besieged
  7. tested
  8. cursed
Adjective
  • Jake is eventually very frustrated and decides to quit basketball to do theater.
    — Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Sep. 2026
  • For a frustrated parent, a child's meltdown can look like bad behavior.
    — Suzanne Le Mignot, CBS News, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of frustrated
Verb
  • 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
  • Here’s my Sunday postgame piece on a miserable condition that has afflicted Dolphins fans for years, and our plea to Jon-Eric Sullivan to fix it.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of afflicted
Adjective
  • 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
  • On Monday, Hamby was charged with murder, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and acts, and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a felony, jail records show.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of aggravated
Verb
  • Some with final removal orders also have legal protections against deportation to their countries of origin based on the likelihood they would be tortured or persecuted.
    — Ryan J. Foley, Los Angeles Times, 21 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
  • 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
  • Wuthering Heights In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte presents a world of conflicts, frictions between families, passions, and attachments—especially those of Catherine Earnshaw and the tortured Heathcliff—across an untamed landscape.
    — Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of tortured
Verb
  • In recent months, Israeli settlers have repeatedly besieged the village of Qusra, defying orders from the authorities to leave the area and trying to force Palestinian families, some of whom are also American citizens, out.
    — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 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
  • Some demonstrators cursed at police officers holding riot shields, while others yelled out as passing cars honked in support of the protest.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Home of a fur seal trade leading to an almost extinction of seals, a whaling station, and then many volcanic eruptions leading to the destruction of scientific stations, this island looks like it is cursed.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 Sep. 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 30 Sep. 2026.

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