scourge

1 of 2

noun

ˈskərj How to pronounce scourge (audio)
ˈskȯrj,
ˈsku̇rj
1
: whip
especially : one used to inflict pain or punishment
2
: an instrument of punishment or criticism
3
: a cause of wide or great affliction

scourge

2 of 2

verb

scourged; scourging

transitive verb

1
: flog, whip
2
a
: to punish severely
b
c
: to drive as if by blows of a whip
d
scourger noun

Examples of scourge in a Sentence

Noun a city ravaged by the scourge of unemployment The disease continues to be a scourge in the developing world. Verb a neighborhood scourged by crime The prisoner was scourged with a whip.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Sadly, predatory marketing calls targeting the elderly are still a major scourge. Simon Hill, WIRED, 26 Feb. 2024 For many mom-run accounts, comments from men — admiring, suggestive or explicit — are a recurring scourge to be eradicated, or an inescapable fact of life to be ignored. Michael H. Keller, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024 An underappreciated scourge Tuesday’s panel highlighted growing concerns on the topic, one of the top 10 public health threats facing humanity, according to the World Health Organization. Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 17 Jan. 2024 It’s become a scourge, the cause of which seems to defy both rhyme and reason. Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024 Restrictive zoning and NIMBYism are a scourge but must be handled by state and municipal authorities either opening up zoning, tidying up approval processes, reining in the ability to object to the building of new housing, or some combination of the three. Mike McShane, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 Politics, like the pandemics of decades past, had become a scourge, one no person or institution could escape. Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 8 Feb. 2024 And though prices are higher than before, rapid increases are no longer a scourge on American life. Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2024 Son Heung-min and Harry Kane have been the scourges of City in those recent games, typically scoring on the counter-attack after long periods of City dominating possession, but neither is around this time. Steve Douglas, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024
Verb
Social instability and post-pandemic economic pressures fueled surges in migration across the world. 2023 will probably be the hottest year on record, with heat waves scourging every continent, accompanied by other extreme climactic events. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023 The tragedy inspired a poem by twelve-year-old Benjamin Franklin and a funeral oration by the scourging Puritan clergyman Cotton Mather. Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023 While the kinds of extreme heat events like the wildfires that scourge many parts of the world in hot weather are still very rare in the UK, this report underlines how much temperature changes affect our daily lives—and are likely to do so more in the future. Cassie Werber, Quartz, 23 Jan. 2023 Like its American rival, the Tiger was initially intended to scourge Soviet tank battalions, but was refashioned for multi-role capabilities. Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 9 Mar. 2023 Of all the fearful diseases that scourge the human race, this ranks among those that are justly feared most. Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 2 Nov. 2021 Prior to Christ's crucifixion, Roman soldiers ordered him to be scourged. Anthony Leonardi, Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2020 Yet what’s most original in the film is Mercier’s scathing and self-scourging performance (and there’s no gainsaying the importance of Yoav’s outfit, a collarless saffron-yellow coat). Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2019 After a wet few years in the Great Lakes basin, the Lake Michigan water levels tied a record July high from 1986 — and that’s less than six years after record low levels scourged the region in 2013. Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scourge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French escorge, from escorger to whip, from Vulgar Latin *excorrigiare, from Latin ex- + corrigia thong, whip

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of scourge was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near scourge

Cite this Entry

“Scourge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scourge. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

scourge

1 of 2 noun
1
2
: someone or something that is an instrument of punishment or criticism
3

scourge

2 of 2 verb
scourged; scourging
1
: to whip severely : flog
2
: to cause severe suffering to : devastate

More from Merriam-Webster on scourge

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