1
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
people who were persecuted simply for practicing their religious faith
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of persecute
No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion.
—
Hilary Lewis, HollywoodReporter, 13 Dec. 2025
Karki's attorneys have been fighting to stop his deportation to Bhutan — a small nation between India and China where Karki's family and others with Nepali ancestry were persecuted and driven out in the 1990s.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 11 Dec. 2025
And thousands have been claiming German and Austrian citizenship thanks to a rule granting the designation to the descendants of Jews who were persecuted by the Nazis.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2025
He was persecuted by the Taliban and he will be very seriously harmed, tortured and killed by the Taliban if he's forced to return to Afghanistan.
—Laura Romero, ABC News, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for persecute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecute
Verb
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And then stop the organizational dysfunction, which has plagued the team for years.—
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The program, plagued from the outset by cost overruns and delays, was paused by the ICC at the end of 2023 to conduct an investigation into the best path forward after the surcharge expired.—
Verb
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She’d been awakened by their puppy, and had been annoyed at Ryan, who hadn’t gotten up early with the dog like he was supposed to.—
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Kelce was evaluated for a concussion in the locker room, and he was annoyed at having to answer the questions that are part of the test.—
Verb
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Other geopolitical threats afflicting OPEC+ nations continue to simmer.—
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In most cases, the faithful afflicted by the evil one need only a comfortable chair (better if equipped with armrests) to accompany the exorcistic celebration.—
Verb
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Take a seat on an icy throne—the cold never bothered you anyway.—
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Don’t bother wasting your money—using it more than once a day won’t yield ‘better’ or faster results.—
Verb
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Still, whatever validity there is to his pain, Peter becomes a high priest of hallucination and Coon’s tortured Agnes his disciple.—
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In Chechnya, a region in southern Russia with a predominantly Muslim population, authorities launched an open hunt for gay men—police rounded them up and tortured many of them, with some being killed.—
Verb
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These changes to the fabric’s texture can also irritate delicate skin.—
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To ensure the materials were safe for biological use, the friction layers was tested on a rabbit’s eye, where the device maintained its charge without irritating.—
Verb
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The Windy City is suddenly besieged by a string of bomb threats, but in the midst of all the false alarms, a real situation emerges in the form of military-grade smoke grenades, which points to a terrorist threat.—
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Halladay said she’s heard from multiple doctors, including her child’s pediatrician, that they’ve been besieged with calls from parents hoping to get a prescription.—
Verb
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That thing’s been bugging on him for a while.—
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Check the head and base and foot of the bed, peeling back the top sheet to look for evidence on mattress covers, box springs, dust ruffles, and the headboard—and most importantly, the mattress seams and piping because bed bugs like to hide in cracks and crevices.—
Cite this Entry
“Persecute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecute. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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