victimize

verb

vic·tim·ize | \ ˈvik-tə-ˌmīz

victimized; victimizing

Definition of victimize

transitive verb

1 : to make a victim of

2 : to subject to deception or fraud : cheat

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Examples of victimize in a Sentence

They were victimized because of their religion. victimized by a confidence man with a slick story

Recent Examples on the Web

After being constantly victimized by the dominant Mexican gangs, El Salvadoran immigrants banded together for protection, thus enlarging their membership and force. — USA TODAY, "Live stream: President Trump at roundtable on threat from MS-13," 23 May 2018 Research on white racial attitudes and collective memory shows that white Southerners who lived through the civil rights movement viewed themselves, not people of color, as victimized. — Crystal Marie Fleming, Vox, "Maxine Waters and the trope of the “angry black woman”," 29 June 2018 Among the many women believed to have been victimized by the rapist is Margaret Wardlow, who was 13 years old when she was raped in her bedroom just outside Sacramento in 1977, when the statute of limitations was three years. — Melody Gutierrez, San Francisco Chronicle, "Charges of rape in question in Golden State Killer case," 3 May 2018 These Questions Are Killing Me Joseph Spak with RBC Capital Market was the next analyst to be victimized by Musk’s sass. — Kirsten Korosec, Fortune, "Elon Musk Was Weirder Than Usual on Tesla's Earnings Call. Here Are the CEO's Best Lines," 3 May 2018 Yet because so many rapists are repeat offenders, that failure to act can mean allowing others to be victimized who might have been spared by a DNA match. — Brian Lowry, CNN, "'I Am Evidence' examines problem of untested rape kits," 16 Apr. 2018 However, the file contained malware meant to victimize the recipient further. — Veronica Craker, idahostatesman, "Scammers target scam victims looking to recoup lost money," 9 Feb. 2018 There is no statistical basis for the way African-American communities are inordinately victimized by law enforcement. — Michael Harriot, The Root, "Unprotected, Underserved: The (False) Criminalization of Black America," 25 June 2018 Ybos argued that the criminal justice system can never make anyone whole after an awful crime, and is instead focused on ensuring people’s constitutional rights when they’re accused of, not victimized by, a crime. — German Lopez, Vox, "Brock Turner was sentenced to 6 months in jail for sexual assault. Now voters may recall the judge.," 5 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'victimize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.