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

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

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
Stand mixers are the best choice for things like kneading bread dough, whipping egg whites and mixing cookies, but blenders are best for breaking down more substantial foods to create beautifully smooth purees.

— BestReviews, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of whipping

Verb

Fox attorneys also accused executives at both Dominion and Smartmatic of destroying evidence in their respective cases, and sought sanctions.

— Maddy Lauria, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026
Because both sides can persistently generate concentrated effects without concentrating forces, destroying the enemy’s ability to keep fighting becomes harder.

— NADIA SCHADLOW, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of destroying

Verb

Hemingway escaped through a rear door and was later found by a police canine unit, allegedly hiding in a neighbor’s backyard, according to police.

— Eduardo Cuevas, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
To Guide Drug Development In drug development, immediate value is often hiding in data organizations already collect but don’t fully leverage.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 25 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.

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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 29 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of scourging

verb

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