n. 25B6; noun
(historical) he was beaten with a scourge : WHIP, horsewhip, lash, strap, birch, switch; N. Amer. bullwhip, rawhide; historical cat-o'-nine-tails.
inflation was the scourge of the mid-1970s : AFFLICTION, bane, curse, plague, menace, evil, misfortune, burden, cross to bear; blight, cancer, canker.
blessing, godsend.
25B6; verb
(historical) he was publicly scourged : FLOG, whip, beat, horsewhip, lash, flagellate, strap, birch, cane, thrash, belt, leather; informal tan someone's hide, take a strap to.
a disease which scourged the English for centuries : AFFLICT, plague, torment, torture, curse, oppress, burden, bedevil, beset.