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

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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
  1. ravaging
  2. whipping
  3. destroying
  4. hiding
  5. devastating
  6. slashing
  7. lashing
  8. flogging
Verb
  • My number one priority is curbing the overdevelopment that is ravaging Tavares.
    — Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • For weeks an autoimmune disease doctors couldn’t explain had been attacking his thyroid and ravaging his intestines.
    — Joe Manganiello, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of ravaging
Verb
  • In September 2022, Brandon Sanchez, a member of the show cast, documented a riding lesson in an email to management and HR, describing Garcia berating riders and whipping a Friesian horse for an extended period.
    — Alessandra Schade, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026
  • By far, the easiest way to decongest my pores is whipping out one of the Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads and giving my T-zone a very proper run-through.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • This is the one thing that can stop the agents from destroying us.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Cyberattacks against supermarket refrigeration systems have disrupted grocery operations across Europe, with hackers remotely manipulating temperature controls and destroying perishable food.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • President Barack Obama had gathered his advisors to assess intelligence that indicated Osama Bin Laden was hiding in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
    — Keren Yarhi-Milo, Time, 8 Nov. 2026
  • San Diego professes pride in high graduation rates, but this is a chimera hiding the sad truth of how far our educational leaders will go to look good.
    — U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of hiding
Verb
  • The story here is about the strange relationships that form in the wake of devastating loss, and an examination of the unpredictable, messy and confusing connections often found between people experiencing grief.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Just one week after devastating flooding across southwest Colorado, another powerful storm is moving in.
    — Callie Zanandrie, CBS News, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • Medicare could soon save beneficiaries over a billion dollars on prescription drugs — without slashing the price of a single medicine.
    — Ted Okon, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Republican Scott Walker won that year, and over the next eight years enacted a wide array of Republican priorities that included drastically scaling back union rights, slashing taxes and requiring voters to show identification at the polls.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 3 Nov. 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.

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scourges
scourging
scouring
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Cite this Entry

“Scourging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scourging. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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