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

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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

Bigger fires have been ravaging areas of southern France, but the Fontainebleau fire is exceptionally close to the densely populated region surrounding the French capital.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
Over the past two seasons, UCLA has remarkably maintained the majority of its talent despite the transfer portal ravaging so many teams.

— Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 9 July 2026

Definition of ravaging

Verb

Hanoi’s famous egg coffee—made by whipping egg yolks with sugar and condensed milk into a rich, velvety foam—was born during a time when fresh milk was scarce.

— Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 9 July 2026
Onstage, Shakira unleashed her inner rock star during the song, working the stage and the mic stand in a purple corset and matching fringe pants and whipping her lengthy curls like a weapon.

— Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 7 July 2026

Definition of whipping

Verb

After flying toward a naval target over the Black Sea, the aircraft launched one of the supersonic missiles from a stand-off distance exceeding 120 kilometers, successfully destroying its target.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026
Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigators are probing a destructive fire that ripped through a Sun Valley strip mall early Sunday morning, destroying a beloved family-run market.

— Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 14 July 2026

Definition of destroying

Verb

Little does Sinon know, Odysseus and his men are hiding inside the horse to launch a sneak attack on Troy.

— Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 19 July 2026
The philosopher Michael Sandel (Rhodes Scholar, Harvard professor) accuses elites of hiding their privilege behind spurious claims of merit.

— Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026

Definition of hiding

Verb

Retailers like Wayfair, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Amazon are still slashing prices on some of the highest-quality pieces on the market.

— Sarah Scott, Southern Living, 19 July 2026
San Francisco had already seen a Waymo smashed and torched by a crowd, and a man charged with slashing the tires of seventeen more.

— Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

Definition of slashing

Verb

Under pressure, Fiji conceded 12 penalties — nine by halftime — and a red card to scrumhalf Simione Kuruvoli for lashing out with his boot into the stomach of Ellis Genge.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
In October 2020, Burnham happened to be holding a news conference on live TV, when an aide passed him a phone with news of another lockdown — and the mayor reacted angrily, lashing out at the central government.

— Lauren Frayer, NPR, 9 July 2026

Definition of lashing

Verb

So, that is one gig at a completely unnecessary addition to the sports calendar, created by corporate interests for the sole intention of flogging products to people who do not really like sport… and another at the Enhanced Games.

— Matt Slater, New York Times, 23 May 2026
In an even more meta moment, Amazon interrupted its own Upfront with actual ads with Summer House star Paige DeSorbo flogging certain items to an increasingly frustrated audience.

— Peter White, Deadline, 11 May 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.

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scourges

scourging

scouring

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“Scourging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scourging. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of scourging

verb

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