1
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
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Because the nerves were already ravaging his poise.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026 -
This is a chilling history of a problem still ravaging significant swaths of America — not to mention elsewhere in the world.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Taylor also weighed in on keeping her cool on stage when things go wrong, such as embracing her wig flying off and whipping it around her head, the proper form for double-dutching and having patience in Hollywood.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
26 Feb. 2026
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Though both storms are similar — with a major storm system lingering over the region for over a day and whipping the region with merciless hurricane-level winds, driving inch after inch of wet snow — what made the 1978 storm so devastating was the apparent suddenness of its arrival.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Iran itself is destroying homes and schools, killing and wounding dozens, and disrupting daily life, sometimes beyond recognition.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
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But destroying much of Iran’s ability to project power and attacking the security forces that suppress the Iranian public will surely hasten the regime’s collapse.—
Dennis Ross,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Living together made hiding harder.—
Jennifer Wolfgram,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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In the first episode, this group, which also includes Belle Skinner (Arielle Kebbel), Andrea Cruz (Ash Santos) and Miles Kittle (Tatanka Means), is searching for some bad guys hiding in the depths of the ranch.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Most businesses are open and welcoming customers following January’s devastating Palisades Fire.—
Tim Chester,
Robb Report,
5 Mar. 2026
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Through the implementation of strong border policies, fentanyl trafficking across the southern border has been slashed in half, leading to fewer overdose deaths devastating American families.—
Gabe Evans,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Crosby is out a minimum of four weeks because of a lower-body injury and Malkin served the second of a five-game suspension for slashing Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin in the head.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Mar. 2026
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That $67 ticket informed me that the airline was selling seats to fill planes and slashing staff and services to dangerous levels.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And yet, Trump has also managed to avoid complex questions about those issues — the most pressing before his administration — and despite Democrats and some of his own supporters lashing out over them.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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Noem and her chief adviser Corey Lewandowski -- who is reportedly also departing DHS -- both had a knack for lashing out, yelling and berating staff that crossed them, according to sources.—
Luke Barr,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Examples include a husband having the legal right to restrict his wife’s travel and employment, unequal divorce rights and punishment for appearing in public without a hijab ranging from fines to prison time to flogging.—
Ellie Austin,
Fortune,
21 Jan. 2026
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Others have called out the boring marketing campaign based around flogging variants in order for Swift to finally beat the record for the biggest opening sales week for a female artist in history (currently held by Adele, which she is likely projected to break).—
Bianca Davino,
Refinery29,
7 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Scourging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scourging. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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