1
as in whips
a long thin or flexible tool for striking
the museum display included a scourge, thumbscrews, and other notorious instruments of torture
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2
as in nemeses
one who inflicts punishment in return for an injury or offense
the attorney general, who just happens to be a candidate for governor, is a self-proclaimed scourge of organized crime
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in curses
a source of harm or misfortune
the sheer ubiquity of food is proving to be the scourge of humanity, as evidenced by the obesity epidemic
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in ravages
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action
barbarians scourged the countryside, leaving village after village burned to the ground
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2
as in hides
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
scourge the tree with a whip to loosen the bark
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scourges
Emma Specter, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2025
Individualism, selfishness—these are scourges for your team’s success.
—Don Yaeger, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
First each member, in turn, would prostrate himself while the others, marching in a circle, stepped over him and struck him with their scourges.
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
The vaccination schedule for infants and children has been updated throughout the years as new shots become available, offering better protection against childhood scourges.
—Andrea Kane, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2025
Noun
At the film’s outset, Inez kidnaps her young son Terry from foster care shortly after her release from prison, and A Thousand and One chronicles her attempt to parent despite the scourges of abuse, police brutality and systemic racism.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for scourges
Noun
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Sticks, staff, swords, sabers, whips or scepters including extendable items.—
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Prayer mats lie next to heavy artillery; smoke billows from parked whips; backstabbers get cut first.—
Noun
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With a brief mini-break in the rearview mirror, the Charlotte Hornets got back to action Thursday night, taking on one of their nemeses in the Southeast Division.—
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There’s talk of death and murder (comically), and many nemeses are intent on destroying each other.—
Noun
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In Jujutsu Kaisen, heroic jujutsu sorcerers wage war against demonic creatures called curses and the curse users, who wield jujutsu powers for evil.—
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And as relief from one of the greatest curses imaginable – chronic pain – the neuro-key may offer pain modulation without the expense, side effects, and addiction risk of opioids and systemic drugs.—
Verb
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This horror ravages Africa far beyond Nigeria.—
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However, as a geostorm ravages Earth, Athena and Hen’s space mission teeters on the edge.—
Verb
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And while Americans’ overall ideological self-identification looks stable in the aggregate (37% very conservative/conservative, 34% moderate, 25% very liberal/liberal), a January 2025 Gallup poll shows that this steadiness hides tectonic tensions tugging beneath the surface.—
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Now, Scieszka’s debut filters Tuck Everlasting-esque immortality through the social media age—examining how someone hides their eternal lifespan from facial recognition technology and venture capitalists looking to capitalize upon family property and the ultimate anti-aging secrets.—
Noun
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So there's going to be people, vigilantes, superheroes that are involved in that.—
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Armed with clubs and pistols, vigilantes went door to door, herding more than three hundred men, women, and children through the streets and out of town.—
Noun
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The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is now making ominous threats to Cuba.—
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Trump has issued direct threats against each regime, intensifying the pressure on Tehran and Caracas alike.—
Verb
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Accordingly, the treatments misprescribed can be ineffective at best and harmful at worst, all while the parasite further destroys the cornea.—
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The bill also establishes a Class A misdemeanor if someone, without authorization of the patients, alters, forges, conceals or destroys a request for medication or rescission of a request for medication to affect a health care decision.—
Cite this Entry
“Scourges.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scourges. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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