persecutive

adjective

Definition of persecutivenext
as in frightening

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutive
  1. frightening
  2. persecutory
  3. scary
  4. chilling
  5. harassing
  6. formidable
  7. terrifying
  8. terrible
Adjective
  • Rob remembers the first two days in the hospital as frightening and uncertain.
    — Lisa Hughes, CBS News, 31 July 2026
  • Chris Hemsworth's latest family vacation took a frightening turn when the actor found himself aboard a small plane caught in the middle of a lightning storm.
    — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
Definition of frightening
Adjective
  • For example, Americans living during World War II developed persecutory delusions involving Germans, while those living during the Cold War focused on communists.
    — Alaina Vandervoort Burns, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
Definition of persecutory
Adjective
  • The tragic story of a 17-year-old from Tangier is representative of the plight of many of the more than 800 minors who four days after the collective push by migrants into Ceuta face a scary present and an uncertain future.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
  • While drooling during sleep can conjure scary thoughts of a health problem, experts say the habit is nothing to worry about — though there are still certain signs to watch for.
    — Gavin Escott, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of scary
Adjective
  • Those words have taken on a chilling resonance as commenters debate whether Hilton deserves sympathy.
    — Krystie Lee Yandoli, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Thalidomide’s failure had a chilling effect on progress toward a treatment.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of chilling
Adjective
  • The first complaint, in which a clerk made similar accusations of abusive and harassing conduct, was filed with the circuit court in 2022, not long after Merriam’s appointment.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2026
  • The line is crossed when someone’s conduct at work becomes disrespectful, harassing, intimidating, discriminatory, or disruptive to the team.
    — Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
Definition of harassing
Adjective
  • Webber seemed the perfect fit for Golden State and Nelson, and a bigger, more athletic Warriors team seemed to have a more formidable Big Three in Webber, Owens and second-year guard Latrell Sprewell, with Mullin still on hand as well.
    — Carl Steward, Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Leykin, 19, is a formidable challenger, placing in the top five on four apparatuses.
    — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of formidable
Adjective
  • The monsters when finally shown in the light are more shrug worthy than creepy or terrifying.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The great slope of Mulholland’s concrete gravity dam in the Hollywood Hills — a model for the one that failed — was covered with dirt to disguise its terrifying height.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrifying
Adjective
  • The delta between the disability from these diseases and the amount of funding and research being done on them is terrible.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2026
  • And forty per cent was about how great Modi is and how terrible the opposition is.
    — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrible
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.

Browse Nearby Words

persecutions
persecutive
persecutor
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Persecutive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutive. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All