Definition of "scourge" []

• A source of widespread dreadful affliction and devastation such as that caused by pestilence or war. (noun)
• A means of inflicting severe suffering, vengeance, or punishment. (noun)
• A whip used to inflict punishment. (noun)
• To afflict with severe or widespread suffering and devastation; ravage. (verb-transitive)
• To chastise severely; excoriate. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""Kevin Rudd as previous prime minister had indicated his intention to deal with what he called the scourge of it," he said."
• "Despite the criticism of the new legislation, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed insists it is the only way to eradicate what he describes as the scourge of "professional" begging controlled by criminal gangs."
• "Yet in reassuring the public that the economy will return to normal he has missed a key opportunity to expose the longer-term scourge of widening inequality and its dangers."