as in to afflict
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 epidemic
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 plague
James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
This could help democratize the state’s energy future, reduce costs for consumers and insulate the state from the kind of energy scandals that have plagued Springfield for decades.
—Micky Horstman, Chicago Tribune, 7 July 2025
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
An Early Frost was the medium’s first film about a still confounding and deadly virus that stumped the medical field and slammed the gay community, which was often portrayed in those early days of the plague as pariahs and deserving victims.
—Hal Rubenstein, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for plague
Verb
The crew arrives only to find the hellish torments that have plagued Captain Kilpack and the first crew that disappeared for seven years.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
This could help democratize the state’s energy future, reduce costs for consumers and insulate the state from the kind of energy scandals that have plagued Springfield for decades.
—Micky Horstman, Chicago Tribune, 7 July 2025
Noun
News accounts of fires, floods, erupting volcanoes, plagues, the loss of arable land, and mass extinctions evoke a planet in collapse.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
An Early Frost was the medium’s first film about a still confounding and deadly virus that stumped the medical field and slammed the gay community, which was often portrayed in those early days of the plague as pariahs and deserving victims.
—Hal Rubenstein, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for plague
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plague
Verb
-
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease caused by a virus that primarily, and most severely, afflicts children.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
9 July 2025
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But the results are admirably smooth, low in acidity, and free of the tannic bitterness that afflicts most quick cold brews.—
Matthew Korfhage,
Wired News,
29 June 2025
Noun
-
Given increasing workplace and social isolation, America’s loneliness epidemic is unsurprising, especially for low earners.—
Nathan Meyers,
The Conversation,
11 July 2025
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Such decrees were also issued during the flu epidemic in the early part of the 20th century.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 July 2025
Verb
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There may be no animal that has been more revered and reviled, romanticized and persecuted, adopted and murdered than the coyote.—
Helen Whybrow
July 7,
Literary Hub,
7 July 2025
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Asylum seekers must prove their government is persecuting them or that they're being persecuted by someone who the government is unable or unwilling to stop.—
Victoria Moorwood,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
While pestilence crept over the walls of cities and the countryside fell into desolation—many foreign conquerors of Europe knew how to fight and plunder but not to plow or sow—the monks preserved words.—
Bernd Roeck
June 16,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2025
-
In recent years, the censorship and false narratives of woke cancel culture have transformed our great universities into greenhouses for this deadly and virulent pestilence.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Jon Burge extracted a false confession from Wilson by beating him and torturing him with electrical shocks, according to Wilson’s lawsuit.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
10 July 2025
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Some were arrested, some allegedly tortured, others beaten up, even killed, according to Azeri media.—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Noun
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Similarly, disability insurance replaces your income if injury or illness prevents you from working for an extended period.—
True Tamplin,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
-
Having more information about the effects of injury, age, and disease on human cells can help researchers understand how cancers and other illnesses form, potentially contributing to new therapies.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Mamdani would now have an advantage as the Democratic candidate for mayor in an overwhelmingly Democratic city, in which many feel besieged by President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on undocumented immigrants, his assault on Columbia University, and proposed cuts to social welfare programs.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
26 June 2025
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Los Angeles County’s looming agreement with its biggest labor union is expected to cost a little more than $2 billion over three years — the latest hit to a budget besieged by financial woes.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
Noun
-
According to Orkin, the pest control company, scorpions come indoors in search of food.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
6 July 2025
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Using a mosquito 'bucket of doom' is much cheaper than getting a pest control service to come fog or spray your yard.—
Elliott Harrell,
Southern Living,
4 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plague.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plague. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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