Definition of scourges:
(n) :
(figurative) A source of persistent (and often widespread) pain and suffering or trouble, such as a cruel ruler, disease, pestilence, or war.
(v) :
(figurative) To cause (someone or something) persistent (and often widespread) pain and suffering or trouble; to afflict, to torment.
(n) :
(figurative) A person or thing regarded as an agent of divine punishment.
(v) :
(figurative) To punish (a person, an animal, etc.); to chastise.
(v) :
To strike (a person, an animal, etc.) with a scourge (noun etymology 1, sense 1) or whip; to flog, to whip.
(v) :
To drive, or force (a person, an animal, etc.) to move, with or as if with a scourge or whip.