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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of persecuted
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
22 June 2026
Supporting people who have too often been, and continue to be, persecuted and othered would be a direct way to address the suffering.
—
Grant Brisbee,
New York Times,
14 June 2026
The Lieser family of Jewish industrialists was persecuted by the Nazis, including being imprisoned, and lost almost all their possessions to Nazi seizure.
—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
5 June 2026
Family members and friends were persecuted, arrested, and killed.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
During and shortly after the Spanish Civil War, Franco’s regime, too, persecuted Esperantists for the language’s association with anti–nationalism and anarchism.
—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
Blanche, who defended the fund at a congressional hearing this week, has said anyone who believes they’ve been persecuted can apply for compensation regardless of political affiliation.
—
Eric Tucker,
Fortune,
23 May 2026
Another wore one that read Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness.
—
Stephanie McCrummen,
The Atlantic,
18 May 2026
My parents were supporters of the anti-apartheid movement and various family members were persecuted for being so also.
—
Anthony D'alessandro,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
Verb
In Britain, all the large predators had long since been exterminated and the smaller ones (like foxes) were ruthlessly persecuted.
—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
22 June 2026
Supporting people who have too often been, and continue to be, persecuted and othered would be a direct way to address the suffering.
—
Grant Brisbee,
New York Times,
14 June 2026
The Lieser family of Jewish industrialists was persecuted by the Nazis, including being imprisoned, and lost almost all their possessions to Nazi seizure.
—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
5 June 2026
Family members and friends were persecuted, arrested, and killed.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
During and shortly after the Spanish Civil War, Franco’s regime, too, persecuted Esperantists for the language’s association with anti–nationalism and anarchism.
—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
Blanche, who defended the fund at a congressional hearing this week, has said anyone who believes they’ve been persecuted can apply for compensation regardless of political affiliation.
—
Eric Tucker,
Fortune,
23 May 2026
Another wore one that read Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness.
—
Stephanie McCrummen,
The Atlantic,
18 May 2026
My parents were supporters of the anti-apartheid movement and various family members were persecuted for being so also.
—
Anthony D'alessandro,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecuted
Adjective
-
The Irish were the original oppressed people from the English Empire, and the original colony.
-
The body pointed to the fact that Iran’s Farabi cinema body, which oversees the country’s submission, was directly controlled by the hardline Islamic Republic regime government, which in turn has suppressed freedom of speech and brutally oppressed filmmakers across its 47 years in power.
Verb
-
They are both afflicted by cognitive and/or hearing issues.
-
Two-thirds of respondents afflicted with alpha-gal reported anxiety or depressive disorders in a 2025 University of Missouri survey.
Verb
-
David goes on a tour of the past 250 years and is deeply annoyed by every facet of it.
-
There were more infamous incidents, such as when Dave Hodge was visibly annoyed at the network cutting away from a Montreal Canadiens-Philadelphia Flyers game tied late in regulation to show a news broadcast.
Verb
-
Yet within weeks of Trump declaring the rehabilitation completed in time for Independence Day, the water was plagued by a vivid green algae bloom that clouded the pool’s coating.
-
By the time of the shooting in November 1999, the 5-foot-11, 194-pound Carruth was again being plagued by injuries.
Verb
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The messaging bothered Al-Shaair deeply and still does.
-
Neighbors bothered by crowing or other issues can file nuisance complaints with Animal Care and Control.
Verb
-
Pluverge, an ice cream maker at Taste the Tropics, came to the United States on asylum after he was kidnapped and tortured by gang members in his home country.
-
This is just one in a sweaty dungeon of hundreds of TikTok videos that show women being stalked, grabbed, tortured, tossed to the ground, and handcuffed by scary masked soldiers.
Verb
-
Hasslers, the researchers found, tended to be people who irritated the study respondents but whom the respondents could not escape.
-
But one snafu irritated a sizable portion of the more than 3,000 students gathered at Arie Crown Theater to hear the astronauts discuss their mission.
Verb
-
In the adjacent room, the Shapiro team was equally besieged.
-
The mass shooting that claimed 49 lives and injured dozens of others—the deadliest hate crime targeting LGBTQ+ people in American history—still leaves a grievous mark, most especially in a city, state and nation besieged with new attacks on the gay community.
Cite this Entry
“Persecuted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecuted. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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