1
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
people who were persecuted simply for practicing their religious faith
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to annoy
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of persecute
According to court records, two plaintiffs fled Afghanistan due to fears that the Taliban might persecute them over their support for the United States.
—
Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 21 Feb. 2025
Some of the children who are part of the program have been abused, persecuted or trafficked.
—Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Vivian reports on how Trump talked about Christians as a group being persecuted and how if elected again would even launch an anti-Christian bias task force.
—Duane W. Gang, The Tennessean, 10 Feb. 2025
The Nazis also persecuted other peoples, including Poles, the Romani, Soviet prisoners, gay men and mentally and physically disabled people.
—Jesse Kirsch, NBC News, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for persecute
Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 21 Feb. 2025
Some of the children who are part of the program have been abused, persecuted or trafficked.
—Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Vivian reports on how Trump talked about Christians as a group being persecuted and how if elected again would even launch an anti-Christian bias task force.
—Duane W. Gang, The Tennessean, 10 Feb. 2025
The Nazis also persecuted other peoples, including Poles, the Romani, Soviet prisoners, gay men and mentally and physically disabled people.
—Jesse Kirsch, NBC News, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for persecute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecute
Verb
-
As the title hints, the relationship was plagued with disagreements, and the artist soon abandoned her original idea for a collaboration with the organization.—
Fabiola Iza,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2025
-
How to tackle money problems right now Besides taxes, inflation is plaguing Americans' money worries.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Instead of getting annoyed, try again a few minutes later and remember, never vent your frustration to your cats.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Since then, Lorenzo had been aggressive in pushing the Pinos to seek better medical expertise to get to the bottom of Tatiana’s health problems — an effort that reportedly annoyed Sergio.—
Catherine Odom,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
This, in turn, led to waves of protest and a series of arsons that afflicted 24 churches over the next two years.—
The Editors,
National Review,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Egg prices have jumped to all-time highs due in part to an outbreak of avian flu, or bird flu, that has been afflicting egg-laying hens in the US since 2022.—
Jennifer Hauser,
CNN,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Gathering at Scripps Research’s third annual Pandemic Preparedness Symposium last week, researchers working in virology and chemistry did not bother to debate whether or not H5N1 avian influenza will clear this rapidly shrinking hurdle.—
Paul Sisson,
The Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2025
-
In the show’s latter years, however, that’s mostly been condensed down to one sewing challenge and one ball — season 13 didn’t even bother with the sewing challenge, just hitting the single ball.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Caro Quintero and others then allegedly sought revenge, kidnapping Salazar and torturing him, before killing him.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Rami’s unhappy family splinters over love and politics; an opponent of both the monarchy and Saddam Hussein in the 1950s and 1960s, Rami is imprisoned and tortured, eventually escaping to gain asylum in France.—
Lisa Anderson,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Ramirez-Rosa has been a magnet for it, in ways that could further irritate the city’s already-tender Black-Latino relations.—
Laura Washington,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2025
-
Products with fragrances can also irritate the skin.—
Hannah Yasharoff,
USA TODAY,
5 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Consumers are besieged nearly every day about some news about Elon Musk’s latest moves at the Department of Government Efficiency to gain access to government records that contain sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers.—
Susan Tompor,
USA TODAY,
1 Mar. 2025
-
The series, which also stars Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten and Deanna Allison, follows Lt. Joe Leaphorn (McClarnon), Jim Chee (Gordon) and Bernadette Manuelito (Matten) of the Navajo Tribal Police solving mysteries on their reservation as it is besieged by increasingly violent crimes in the 1970s.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Hackman is a detective who specializes in audio surveillance, spying on and bugging strangers, a wiretapper capturing them in incriminating secrets, yet unable to empathize or bond with any real-life humans.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Ahead of the trial, Sherborne alleged the newspapers had used deception to obtain his clients' medical, phone and flight records, as well as bugging homes and placing listening devices into cars.—
Max Taylor,
NBC News,
22 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persecute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecute. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share