as in frightening
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutive
Adjective
-
The bodycam video was an eye-opening look at the frightening aftermath of the Brown campus shooting when police were searching room-by-room for the suspect, trying to comfort and care for terrified students, and trying to coordinate with campus police to get past locked doors.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026 -
In 2017 Dikansh Parmar of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change in Germany, rescued an Indian cobra (Naja naja) coiled around a train’s window bars that was hissing and, understandably, frightening passengers.—
Richard Kemeny,
Scientific American,
6 Feb. 2026
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
Adjective
-
The scariest jump in ice skating requires your shoulders, hips, knees and feet to be in perfect alignment.—
Kelly O'Grady,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Range anxiety never sounded so scary.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But even without an arrest, First Amendment advocates say the law has a chilling effect.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Feb. 2026
-
As part of the package, the White House is seeking to codify a dangerous government price control precedent into law that will have a chilling effect on medical innovation and patient choice.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
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
Adjective
-
Schwesinger was the favorite coming into the night after a tremendous year at middle linebacker for a formidable Browns defense despite what the record may say in 2025.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Premiering every week on HBO to rave reviews from fans and critics alike, this season has kicked things into fifth gear and created a formidable villain in newcomer Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella).—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
After reviewing footage from monitoring cameras set up in the child’s room, the father, who has not been publicly identified, saw a terrifying incident of violence against his son, which had taken place two days earlier, according to authorities.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Many mothers in the Twin Cities marched the streets in the wake of the murders and terrifying kidnappings by ICE, and many mothers organized in other ways, moving food and money to food shelves, families sheltering-in-place, and rent relief funds.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
America just passed the 50th anniversary of one of its truly terrible days — one that future historians can track as the beginning of the end of our democracy.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Busch was terrible defensively at third.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Persecutive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutive. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
