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
  • Forty years ago, when the AIDS epidemic was ravaging New York, some Southern Baptists described it as God’s judgment—a punishment for its victims’ life style.
    — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Temperatures have risen in oceans faster due to climate change, super-charging storms and drought, ravaging coral reefs across the world, and endangering species in tandem with overfishing and industrial pollution.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 June 2026
Definition of ravaging
Verb
  • And a Cut Absolute is whipping around upon seeing the person and walking away.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 29 June 2026
  • Patrick Evans made it to the top step of the Motocross Best Trick event with his electric bike, whipping out a no-handed front flip to loud cheers from the crowd before climbing back up the ramp to celebrate.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 28 June 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • Mexican fruit flies are one of the world’s most destructive pests when laying their eggs, destroying or damaging fruit such as apples, grapefruits, avocados, peaches and pears, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
    — Kori McNair, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
  • But Blue Origin suffered a major setback in May when one of its New Glenn rockets abruptly exploded on the launchpad, destroying vital infrastructure that will take months to rebuild.
    — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 30 June 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • Failing to disclose or intentionally hiding assets can make a prenup more vulnerable to being challenged in court.
    — Jasmin Suknanan, CNBC, 6 July 2026
  • The find suggests one of NASA’s most successful planet hunters may still have plenty of surprises hiding in its archives.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 6 July 2026
Definition of hiding
Verb
  • The co-writer thing was a total disaster, devastating on every level.
    — Daniela Avila, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
  • One week after devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela, relief efforts in South Florida continue at a steady pace.
    — Manuel Bojorquez, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • Then Ferrari’s team reboots the underlying technology—centralizing server costs, cleaning up sprawling codebases—while slashing costs.
    — Chris Dobstaff, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • Higgins said her solution is to speed up permitting by slashing red tape — both for these types of large, city projects and for home and business owners trying to install resilient upgrades.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
Definition of slashing
Verb
  • Unfortunately, this can lead to some individuals lashing out in response to their own insecurities, hate and low bar of aptitude, which is confirmed by the tenor of the attacks.
    — Jallicia Jolly, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Criminal Minds star Paget Brewster is apologizing after lashing out at a critic.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 22 June 2026
Definition of lashing
Verb
  • So, that is one gig at a completely unnecessary addition to the sports calendar, created by corporate interests for the sole intention of flogging products to people who do not really like sport… and another at the Enhanced Games.
    — Matt Slater, New York Times, 23 May 2026
  • In an even more meta moment, Amazon interrupted its own Upfront with actual ads with Summer House star Paige DeSorbo flogging certain items to an increasingly frustrated audience.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 11 May 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 7 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of scourging for Spanish Speakers

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