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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scourging

Verb

Julien De Rosa | Afp | Getty Images Firefighters stand by their vehicle as the battle a forest fire in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, some 30km from Bordeaux, on July 26, 2026 as a wildfire has been ravaging the forest north of the Arcachon Basin (Gironde).

— Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 27 July 2026
France’s interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said the wildfire ravaging large swaths of southwestern France was heading toward the city of Bordeaux.

— Caroline Blumberg, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026

Definition of ravaging

Verb

Battered cars with numbers sprayed on their sides are whipping around the dirt track of the Lebanon Valley Speedway, loose fenders flopping like overgrown bangs in the swirling dust.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2026
Iguanas usually go viral for other reasons Iguanas are usually quick-moving and run away from their would-be captors with their long tails whipping behind them.

— Julia Gomez, USA Today, 24 July 2026

Definition of whipping

Verb

The fire ripped through hillside neighborhoods, destroying mansions with spectacular ocean views.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
At that tipping point, the only solution is for oil prices to surge, destroying enough demand for oil that the market can return to equilibrium.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of destroying

Verb

The boyfriend of a 2-year-old boy's mother is facing felony charges after investigators accused him of hiding the child's body in the woods behind a Marietta apartment complex and lying to police.

— CBS News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
Few details of either incident were publicly available in real time because OPD encrypted its scanner traffic last year, hiding the activity of its officers.

— Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of hiding

Verb

Lionel Messi has donated €80,000 ($92,200) to the reconstruction efforts of Madrid’s Sierra Oeste region following devastating wildfires in the area.

— Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Authorities in Washington have arrested a man for arson in connection with one of the major wildfires devastating the eastern part of the state, which has destroyed hundreds of homes and forced tens of thousands to flee.

— Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of devastating

Verb

One of those attacks was a bear slashing a man’s chest outside his home in North Canaan.

— Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026
Senate Republicans have expressed wariness in recent days about the prospect of slashing those standards, which advocates say help keep kids safe and healthy.

— Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of slashing

Verb

The president has responded to the MAGA criticism by lashing out repeatedly at dissenters, prompting Greene – once a top Trump supporter – not to run for reelection and Massie to lose his primary.

— Zac Anderson, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026
Koivun launched himself into the lead at TPC Twin Cities by lashing a 305-yard approach shot to 12 feet on the par-5 12th hole.

— Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 28 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 10 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of scourging

verb

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