SCOURGING Synonyms: 141 Similar and Opposite Words

scourging

verb

present participle of scourge

as in ravaging

to bring destruction to (something) through violent action barbarians scourged the countryside, leaving village after village burned to the ground

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in whipping

to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible scourge the tree with a whip to loosen the bark

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scourging

Verb

The Grand Canyon has seen ravaging floods in the past week, sparking search and rescue missions and damaging nearly 40% of its sole water pipeline.

— Joshua Hong, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2026
But Vicente dismisses global heating as the main reason for the fires that are ravaging Europe.

— Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of ravaging

Verb

In whipping rain and wind in New Jersey, the New York Giants held on for a 12-7 win in their first game since quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury.

— Andrew Greif, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026
Goalkeeper Emi Martinez floated a ball over Ezri Konsa to Rogers, who exchanged passes with Joao Pedro before shifting sharply onto his right foot and whipping a shot just wide of David Raya’s far post.

— Liam Twomey, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of whipping

Verb

It was defined in a United Nations Convention, adopted in the wake of the Holocaust, as acts that are committed with the intention of destroying — in whole or in part — a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

— David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Can the product be restored without destroying what still works?

— Christopher Kiggins, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of destroying

Verb

This is precisely why one of your first purchases this season should be a fall jacket for women that complements and enhances your outfit, rather than hiding it.

— Irene Richardson, InStyle, 29 Sep. 2026
All told, the McCauleys stole at least $12 million, getting creative in hiding cash — by stuffing it into jars of spaghetti sauce, for example.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of hiding

Verb

Military force has imposed enormous costs on both Hamas and Iran, devastating their military facilities and killing their commanders.

— NADIA SCHADLOW, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2026
The country is also recovering from devastating back-to-back earthquakes in June that have so far killed over 6,000 people.

— Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of devastating

Verb

Hilton has made a slew of campaign promises to lower the cost of living, including $3 gasoline, no taxes on income below $150,000 and lowering energy bills by slashing climate-friendly regulations imposed by Democrats.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
The crooks beat him savagely, at one point slashing him with a machete, while demanding his iPhone password, officials said.

— Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of slashing

Verb

These are just two of the many scenes of destruction the hurricane has left in Hawaii after lashing the state’s western islands with heavy rain, widespread flooding and tropical-storm-force winds on Monday and Tuesday.

— Liz Kreutz, NBC news, 9 Sep. 2026
This week’s meeting of G20 finance ministers underscored rising global trade tensions, with several countries, including the US, lashing out at China.

— Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of lashing

Verb

The Taliban bans filming in public areas where flogging as well as stoning takes place, but MA says that individuals who oppose the practice have been discretely filming these events, then posting the video.

— Ruchi Kumar, NPR, 8 Sep. 2026
Rubin, who has built a business flogging sports merchandising and collectibles, is renowned for his annual White Party in the exclusive Hamptons, near New York City.

— James Horncastle, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of flogging

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.

Browse Nearby Words

scourges

scourging

scouring

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Scourging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scourging. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of scourging

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

heterodox

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes