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 ( ex- ¹ ); (v.) Middle English < Old French escorgier

Example Sentences

By 1529, she had died, possibly succumbing to smallpox, a European scourge.

From Los Angeles Times

They worried it could turn into deflation, a major scourge of the economy during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

From MarketWatch

They worried it could turn into deflation, a major scourge of the economy during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

From MarketWatch

It is seen as a scourge of the modern game.

From BBC

The scourge of extortion in Peru, which has risen tenfold in two years, cannot be beaten without a major security overhaul, the prosecutor heading the South American country's fight against organized crime told AFP.

From Barron's

Related Words

• curse
• pest
• terror