scourge

1 a long thin or flexible tool for striking the museum display included a scourge, thumbscrews, and other notorious instruments of torture Synonyms flogger, lash, whip, switchRelated Words birch, blacksnake, bullwhip, cat-o'-nine-tails, cowhide, crop, hickory, knout, quirt, rattan, rawhide, strap; bastinado (or bastinade), bat, baton, billy, billy club, bludgeon, cane, club, cudgel, flail, nightstick, staff

2 one who inflicts punishment in return for an injury or offense the attorney general, who just happens to be a candidate for governor, is a self-proclaimed scourge of organized crime Synonyms avenger, castigator, chastiser, punisher, nemesis, vigilanteRelated Words revenger; redresser, righter; requiterNear Antonyms ransomer, redeemer, vindicator

3 a source of harm or misfortune the sheer ubiquity of food is proving to be the scourge of humanity, as evidenced by the obesity epidemic Synonyms affliction, curse, nemesis, baneRelated Words hex, hoodoo, jinx; danger, hazard, menace, peril, risk, threat, trouble; booby trap, catch, pitfall, snagNear Antonyms advantage, aid, assistance, gift, help, relief, support; comfort, consolation, solace; delight, joy, pleasure; armor, defense, guard, protection, safeguard, safety, security, shieldAntonyms benefit, blessing, boon, felicity, godsend, good, manna, windfall

1 to bring destruction to (something) through violent action barbarians scourged the countryside, leaving village after village burned to the ground Synonyms destroy, devastate, ruin, ravageRelated Words despoil, foray, harry, loot, maraud, pillage, plunder, sack, strip; annihilate, desolate, eradicate, expunge, extinguish, extirpate, nuke, obliterate, rub out, shatter, smash, total, vaporize, waste, wipe out, wrack, wreck; decimate, mow; demolish, raze; crush, overpower, overrun, overthrow, overwhelmNear Antonyms recondition, recover, redeem, rehabilitate, restore; fix, mend, patch, repair, revamp

2 to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible scourge the tree with a whip to loosen the bark Synonyms birch, cowhide, flagellate, flail, flog, hide, horsewhip, lash, leather, rawhide, whip, slash, switch, tan, thrash, whaleRelated Words knout, quirt, strap; cut; flick, touch up; blackjack, cane, club, cudgel, fustigate; pistol-whip; bang, bop, box, bust, clap, clip, clobber, clout, crack, cuff, hit, knock, lam, paste, punch, slap, slug, smack, smite, sock, spank, swat, swipe, thwack, wallop, whack; bash, baste, bat, batter, beat, belabor, belt, bludgeon, buffet, bung, drub, fib [British], hammer, lace, lambaste (or lambast), lather, lick, mangle, maul, paddle, pelt, pommel, pound, pummel, rough, slate, slog, thresh, thump, tromp, whop (or whap), whup, work over