Punishes severely (8)
I believe the answer is:
scourges
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">punishes severely</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">('scourge' can be a synonym of 'punish severely')</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for scourges that I've seen before include "Flogs or afflicts greatly" , "Flogs, lashes" , "punishing cats" , "Whips" .)