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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of persecute
Under apartheid, the Black majority was stripped of political rights, confined to just 13% of the land, and persecuted remorselessly under a complex system of racist laws.
—
Sizwe Mpofu Walsh, Time, 23 May 2025
Trump and his ally Elon Musk, who was born and raised in the country, claimed the South Africans were being persecuted back home.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 21 May 2025
He was previously involved in drafting legislation aimed at persecuting participants of the 2014 revolution in Ukraine.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
During Yanukovych’s presidency, Portnov was widely viewed as a pro-Russia political figure and was involved in drafting legislation aimed at persecuting participants of the 2014 revolution in Ukraine.
—Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for persecute
Sizwe Mpofu Walsh, Time, 23 May 2025
Trump and his ally Elon Musk, who was born and raised in the country, claimed the South Africans were being persecuted back home.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 21 May 2025
He was previously involved in drafting legislation aimed at persecuting participants of the 2014 revolution in Ukraine.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
During Yanukovych’s presidency, Portnov was widely viewed as a pro-Russia political figure and was involved in drafting legislation aimed at persecuting participants of the 2014 revolution in Ukraine.
—Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for persecute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecute
Verb
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Inside a Palm Beach County courtroom, Judge Kathleen Kroll is trying to tackle a problem that has plagued Florida schools in recent years: An alarming number of students aren’t showing up for school.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
5 June 2025
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The wallet aims to solve cross-border payment challenges that have long plagued African creators.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
5 June 2025
Verb
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The comedy as a second-class sibling to the drama is a notion that has annoyed the people who make television comedies for years.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
7 June 2025
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In some cases, that will be obvious: You’ll get annoyed by weird or loud noises and odors, notice your energy bill has skyrocketed, or spot signs of a leak.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
3 June 2025
Verb
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Violent crime, meanwhile, is a scourge afflicting every community.—
Sizwe Mpofu Walsh,
Time,
23 May 2025
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Apart from overcoming the problems that afflicted the last two launches, one of the most important objectives for this flight is to test the performance of Starship's heat shield.—
John Timmer,
ArsTechnica,
22 May 2025
Verb
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Whatever discomfort the 38-year-old was feeling didn’t appear to bother him thereafter.—
David Close,
CNN Money,
6 June 2025
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This is an arrangement that bothers Kagi's founder.—
Ryan Whitwam,
ArsTechnica,
6 June 2025
Verb
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The footage includes a scene in which a Hitler look-alike is tortured.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2025
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In 2024, Chinese state media reported at least four separate cases of university students allegedly torturing cats.—
Rebecca Wright,
CNN Money,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump initially tapped to co-lead DOGE, pushed for an expansion of the program as way to attract global talent, irritating immigration hawks in the conservative movement.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
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Use Insect Repellent to Avoid Bug Bites Stinging, biting, and otherwise irritating bugs are prevalent in summer.—
Sarah Richards,
Verywell Health,
3 June 2025
Verb
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Imagine an aircraft carrier group besieged by a thousand drones in the Persian Gulf or Arabian Sea.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2025
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Cable news is besieged on one side by changing user behavior and on the other by unforgiving economics — one eroding attention, the other bleeding resources.—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Verb
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Say your mother kept bugging you to change a bad habit.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
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Next season is when all the little things start to bug me.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persecute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecute. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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