- [usually singular] scourge (of somebody/something) (formal)
a person or thing that causes trouble, difficulty or mental pain 祸害;祸根;灾害 the scourge of war/disease/poverty 战争/疾病/贫穷之苦 Inflation was the scourge of the 1970s. 通货膨胀曾是 20 世纪 70 年代的祸患。
Extra ExamplesHe is well-known as a scourge of the Establishment. 众所周知,他是当权派的祸害。 The Green Party sees the motor car as a scourge on society. 绿党认为汽车是社会的祸害。 freeing the world from the scourge of nuclear weapons 使世界免受核武器的祸害 taking action against the growing scourge of hunger 采取行动消除日益严重的饥饿祸害
a whip used to punish people in the past (旧时用作刑具的)鞭子
Word OriginMiddle English: shortening of Old French escorge (noun), escorgier (verb), from Latin ex- ‘thoroughly’ + corrigia ‘thong, whip’.