Meaning & use
plaguing
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“plaguing” is a form of “plague”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Present participle of plague: causing someone or something continual trouble, pain or annoyance.
Grammar: Takes an object: a problem is plaguing the team.
Patterns
- something is plaguing someone
- plaguing someone with something
Engine trouble has been plaguing the airline all summer.
Doubts were plaguing her as she waited for the results.
A cough kept plaguing him throughout the winter.
verbtransitiveinformal
Pestering or annoying someone repeatedly, often by asking for something.
Grammar: Often with with: plaguing someone with questions.
Patterns
- plaguing someone with something
The children were plaguing their mother with questions.
Reporters kept plaguing the actor for details.
He is plaguing me with phone calls about the car.
Word forms
| base form | plague |
|---|---|
| third person singular | plagues |
| past tense | plagued |
| past participle | plagued |
Common combinations
- plaguing the industry
- Shortages are plaguing the industry.
- problems plaguing
- The problems plaguing the project were many.
- plaguing someone with questions
- The reporters were plaguing her with questions.
- plaguing the region
- Drought is plaguing the region again.
- plaguing for years
- The issue has been plaguing the town for years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- afflicting
- Afflicting is more formal and often used for illness or deep suffering, whereas plaguing suggests ongoing annoyance.
- bedeviling
- Bedeviling stresses confusing, hard-to-solve trouble, while plaguing stresses its persistence.
- harassing
- Harassing implies deliberate pressure from a person, while plaguing can be done by problems.
- pestering
- Pestering is milder and usually about irritating requests.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: plaguing or playing? plaguing or plaguing (noun sense)?
plaguing vs playing
Playing is from play and sounds similar, but plaguing means troubling someone repeatedly.
plaguing vs plaguing (noun sense)
The noun plague means a deadly disease; the verb means to trouble continually.
Practice
Which sentence uses plaguing correctly?
Choose one answer.
Plaguing means continually troubling, so rumors can plague a company. The others confuse it with playing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plaguing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.