as in afflicts
to cause persistent suffering to
plagued by a cough for all of last week
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in epidemics
a widespread disease resulting in a high rate of death
the Black Death was a plague that killed about one third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plagues
Daniel Popper, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Cinnamon has been widely touted as a cure-all for anything that plagues the garden.
—Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 12 Dec. 2025
Motion interference plagues nearly all wearable technology, limiting accuracy in real life.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Nov. 2025
When an unexpected event takes him back to his hometown, he is reunited with his mother and old friends but also confronted by the corruption that plagues his country, sparking a political awakening.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
Chapman’s tenure at the SBC Executive Committee from 1992 to 2009 encountered similar economic and political headwinds that plagues the SBC today, yet many Southern Baptists remember that time for Chapman’s determination to push past those hurdles for the sake of growing local churches.
—Liam Adams, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Oct. 2025
In 2014, the now 69-year-old actress spoke about experiencing menopause at a time when so few women publicly did so, often fearing the unfair combination of sexism and ageism that plagues many, especially in TV and film.
—Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 16 Oct. 2025
Every unit can be audited on a public ledger, reducing the opacity that plagues traditional finance.
—Luke Xie, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
His voice already had that staticky, far-away quality that plagues international calls, which made Nakia fear he was gone for good.
—Literary Hub, 16 Sep. 2025
Melanie Fincher, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2025
Sure, to be entirely historically accurate, negative things like plagues, beheadings and poverty would likely factor in to the villagers’ lives.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
So while so much of this matchup is strength versus strength, what might matter most is which team’s weakness plagues them the least.
—Noun
Rubbermaid EasyFindLids Food Storage Containers Finding the right lid to fit your food storage container plagues just about all of us, but this set solves that problem.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for plagues
Verb
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Furthermore, regulatory sclerosis afflicts housing and infrastructure.—
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Violence provided a solution but also birthed the recurring dilemma that afflicts African states today.—
Verb
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In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.—
Noun
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That’s different that the crisis caused when formula produced by Abbott was linked to infant deaths and illnesses in 2022.—
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For less severe illnesses, people will usually recover with rest and hydration.—
Verb
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Later, in one of the movie's most satisfying scenes, Millie locks Andrew in the attic and tortures him by loudly smashing each plate.—
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The mistake tortures them, which prompts the couple to try and solve the mystery by producing a fake play in an attempt to get their ex-neighbor Mary (Chloe Cherry) to audition.—
Noun
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If your plants were plagued by pests or diseases during the growing season, leaving diseased plant debris in your garden allows problems to overwinter and reinfect your plants in spring.—
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Plant diseases and pests can be spread by reusing dirty flower pots.—
Verb
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In a beat of levity that carries new weight, Geralt quietly curses afterward.—
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Liam Perino curses in front of his parents.—
Cite this Entry
“Plagues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plagues. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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