scourging

verb

present participle of scourge
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

Relevance

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
  1. ravaging
  2. whipping
  3. destroying
  4. hiding
  5. devastating
  6. slashing
  7. lashing
  8. flogging
Verb
  • For weeks an autoimmune disease doctors couldn’t explain had been attacking his thyroid and ravaging his intestines.
    — Joe Manganiello, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Across the country, climate change is ravaging ecosystems, bringing more robust storms, rising sea levels, record-setting conflagrations and fatal heat waves.
    — Jennifer Oldham, Denver Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of ravaging
Verb
  • Now imagine whipping your phone out after work, telling the world about it, and landing a brand deal worth $10K or more.
    — Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Now imagine the same hot and dry conditions, but with the Santa Anas whipping at 40 miles an hour.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • One crab can eat more than 40 juvenile soft-shell clams in a day, while also destroying seagrass habitats.
    — Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • And then a seven-hour-long GRB came along—acting like a Death Star whose planet-destroying beam refused to switch off—that defied all explanation.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • The Manhunters rebelled against the Guardians, and most were killed; the sole survivor is hiding out in Rushville disguised as a human.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
  • But this is in fact the opportunity hiding inside the greatest technological acceleration of our lifetimes.
    — Matt Alt, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of hiding
Verb
  • Overall, climate change is weakening the winds — but won’t save SoCal from devastating fires.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The region has already been saturated by heavy rain over the past months, and regions like New Mexico and Grand Canyon were hit by devastating floods earlier this month.
    — Megan Janetsky, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • The city of Hollywood hosted a public meeting to give residents an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about Amendment 3, a ballot proposal aimed at drastically slashing property taxes.
    — Ted Scouten, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • McAvoy missed the first six games of the season as punishment for slashing Buffalo’s Zach Benson late in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs last season when the Bruins got eliminated.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of slashing
Verb
  • Most of the students were accused of minor offenses, like making threats, using cannabis vapes or lashing out at classmates or teachers, the analysis found.
    — Kristian Hernández, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • More students ages 10 to 13 are ending up in the justice system after vaping, making threats and lashing out at school.
    — Rosie Cima, New York Times, 15 Oct. 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

“Scourging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scourging. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of asunder

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

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

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All