scourge

American  

[skurj] / skɜrdʒ /

noun

1. a whip or lash, especially for the infliction of punishment or torture.

2. a person or thing that applies or administers punishment or severe criticism.

3. a cause of affliction or calamity.

   Disease and famine are scourges of humanity.

   Synonyms:

   bane, plague

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verb (used with object)

scourged, scourging

1. to whip with a scourge; lash.

2. to punish, chastise, or criticize severely.

   Synonyms:

   castigate, correct

scourge British  

/ skɜːdʒ /

noun

1. a person who harasses, punishes, or causes destruction

2. a means of inflicting punishment or suffering

3. a whip used for inflicting punishment or torture

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verb

1. to whip; flog

2. to punish severely

Other Word Forms

• scourger
  noun
• scourgingly
  adverb
• self-scourging
  adjective
• unscourged
  adjective
• unscourging
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of scourge

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French escorge, derivative of escorgier to whip < Vulgar Latin *excorrigiāre, derivative of Latin corrigia thong, whip ( see ex- ¹); (v.) Middle English < Old French escorgier

Explanation

If something makes people miserable or causes them great pain and torment, it's a scourge. A corrupt government is one kind of scourge, and a plague of insects that destroys a farmer's crops is another kind of scourge. Dating from the 13th century, scourge originally meant "a whip used as punishment." It wasn't long until the figurative meaning of "something causing pain or misery" became even more common. A scourge tends to be something that causes folks to suffer terribly, whether it's a tsunami or unjust laws. You can also use this word as a verb: "Cutting the city's transportation budget will do nothing but scourge people without cars."

Example Sentences

Serkis’ attempt to update this story isn’t a scourge on animation or children’s media; it’s simply not as observant and symbolic as it should be.

From Salon • May 3, 2026

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the latest numbers were "shocking" and the government "stands against the scourge of antisemitism".

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

Countries on Saturday elected Chile's COP climate summit chief negotiator to revive stalled talks on striking a landmark global treaty tackling the scourge of plastic pollution.

From Barron's • Feb. 7, 2026

The latest novel by Lionel Shriver, literary darling turned literary-world scourge, doesn’t come out until mid-February, and it’s already polarizing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

Dr. Jean Devèze, a recent French arrival, condemned Rush with a passion: “He, I say, is a scourge more fatal to the human kind than the plague itself would be.”

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

Related Words

• curse
• pest
• terror