as in oppressed
suffering grave abuse or injustice at the hands of one in authority
a nation that is still regarded as a refuge for persecuted people from around the world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in afflicted
to cause persistent suffering to
people who were persecuted simply for practicing their religious faith
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in annoyed
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
she likes to persecute her sister with pointless, annoying questions at very inopportune times
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of persecuted
Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2025
Molero and her husband arrived in the United States in 2003, fleeing after they were persecuted for working alongside opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Archival clips show thousands of Jews persecuted in Germany have begun migrating to Palestine.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
His deportation to El Salvador violated a 2019 court order that protected him from being deported to his home country because of concerns that he’d be persecuted by violent gangs.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2025
Criminals are to be persecuted.
—Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 23 Aug. 2025
Foucault, a gay man who died of AIDS, was hardly unaware that people are sometimes persecuted and even killed for their sexuality.
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Reyes and his family left Nicaragua after being persecuted for their political activism, and sought asylum at the southern border, Hernandez said.
—Graham Hurley, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2025
Verb
More and more, people who have loyally served Putin’s system are being persecuted, mainly on the grounds of corruption.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2025
Molero and her husband arrived in the United States in 2003, fleeing after they were persecuted for working alongside opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Archival clips show thousands of Jews persecuted in Germany have begun migrating to Palestine.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
His deportation to El Salvador violated a 2019 court order that protected him from being deported to his home country because of concerns that he’d be persecuted by violent gangs.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2025
Criminals are to be persecuted.
—Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 23 Aug. 2025
Foucault, a gay man who died of AIDS, was hardly unaware that people are sometimes persecuted and even killed for their sexuality.
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Reyes and his family left Nicaragua after being persecuted for their political activism, and sought asylum at the southern border, Hernandez said.
—Graham Hurley, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecuted
Adjective
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The series was originally based on a novel by Margaret Atwood and followed June's life in a dystopian world called Gilead following a Second American Civil War, where women are oppressed and only used in society for their fertility.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Even the long oppressed Russian people would cheer.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Griffin, who does clinical work in Long Island, New York, said his sister-in-law is in her 40s and quite wary of long COVID, the enduring, debilitating health issues that have afflicted millions of Americans who contracted the coronavirus.—
Jorge L. Ortiz,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
-
But Thomas was afflicted by health troubles on the 26-56 Nets last year.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Everyone Lee comes into contact with is at minimum annoyed with him most of the time, if not outright hating him.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Keanu, still annoyed from the veto ceremony, talked to Ava Pearl in the HOH room and called Rachel a liar.—
David Wysong,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
By surviving more than 3,500 cycles, the material demonstrated an unusually high degree of durability for this class of batteries, which are often plagued by rapid capacity fade.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Yet, the industry is plagued by low wages and high turnover rates.—
Jennifer Jay Palumbo,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Think flying in spring water to a Caribbean island because a female client thought the local water irritated her scalp.—
Louis J. Esterhazy,
Footwear News,
7 Sep. 2025
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In fact, the aliens take a back seat to the human interactions, which irritated some viewers eager to see actual aliens in a show about an extraterrestrial invasion.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Emily Brontë appears in every way indifferent to the need for love and companionship that tortured the lives of her sisters.—
Emily Temple
September 5,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Several women were tortured and gang raped.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
And she couldn’t be bothered to start things up again.—
Bryan Washington,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
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No one has ever bothered me for doing this.—
R29 Team,
Refinery29,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Landslide in western Sudan kills at least 1,000 A landslide in western Sudan killed at least 1,000 people, intensifying hardship in a country besieged by years of civil war.—
Tasneem Nashrulla,
semafor.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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Validated Insights To even the most casual observer, these must feel like belligerent times in higher education – surrounded by fires, besieged, and under crushing market pressures all at once.—
Derek Newton,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persecuted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecuted. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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