as in frightening
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutive
Adjective
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The findings are stark, even frightening.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
23 Mar. 2026 -
During one frightening allergic reaction, her child’s body erupts in hives and her breathing becomes labored, sending the family rushing to emergency care.—
Rhoda Feng,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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The scariest reality may be that most defense innovation comes from desperation.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
23 Mar. 2026
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Robbing a bank was a bit scary, because the owners of the bank wanted to be in the thing.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Researchers in France made a chilling discovery earlier this year, finding skeletons buried in a seated position during an excavation at a school.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
20 Mar. 2026
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Such tactics have a chilling effect that could make people less inclined to come to court or serve as witnesses, critics say.—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
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Golden Horse Best Actors Wu Kang Ren and Tse Kwan Ho play the formidable Poon patriarch and son.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
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Last year’s Terrapins made a Sweet 16 run and lost to formidable South Carolina by just four points.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The fascinating — and perhaps slightly terrifying — part of this particular season is that both outcomes seem equally possible.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
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Scary is subjective, but for many people, HHN is terrifying.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Even if the football this summer is terrible, plenty of the teams are going to look great.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
20 Mar. 2026
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In the 1970s-1980s, all the agricultural talk in the Mississippi Delta was whether the boll weevil would be terrible or just awful this coming fall.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
19 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Persecutive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutive. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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