PERSECUTORS Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

persecutors

noun

plural of persecutor

as in torturers

a person who causes repeated emotional pain, distress, or annoyance to another years later his schoolyard persecutor would end up being one of his low-paid employees

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in nuisances

one who is obnoxiously annoying on this flight my airline-appointed persecutor was a chattering nitwit who could not stop talking about himself

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of persecutors Shakespeare humanizes the Elizabethan stage stereotype of the villainous Jew by giving Shylock ample reason for wanting to get back at his Christian persecutors. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2026 Amish are part of the wider Anabaptist movement, which puts heavy emphasis on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, containing some of his most radical and counter-cultural sayings — to love enemies, live simply, bless persecutors, turn the other cheek and to endure sufferings joyfully. — Dave Smith, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025 That is a nasty process which involves digging up Ambar’s still-fresh corpse, then subjecting it to various grisly indignities night after night as retribution gets visited upon our heroine’s persecutors. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025 Using it to describe this week’s attack on Huwara – or other similar attacks in Israel or Palestine – effectively puts Israel in the place of the Jews’ historic persecutors. — Joshua Shanes, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutors

Noun

Red is immediately abducted, cut open in an ambulance, and injected with pain-magnifying drugs by his torturers, while Liz accidentally murders the mysterious man surveilling her next door.

— EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026
Aaron escapes his torturers, first by rooting himself in the town’s only movie theater open to Black people, and then by lying about his age and enlisting in the Navy at 16.

— Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026

Definition of torturers

Noun

The Kansas City City Council approved a trio of ordinances on Thursday aimed at vacant properties that become nuisances and staving off demolition of historic buildings.

— Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2026
Germans often overreact to animal nuisances with complicated schemes.

— Ben Crair, New Yorker, 31 July 2026

Definition of nuisances

Noun

The attacks lead to the fateful events of prom night — a famous moment from King’s original— in which Carrie, who’s become aware of growing telekinetic powers, turns her abilities on her tormenters when she’s finally pushed over the edge.

— Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026
That their tormentors were not untouchable.

— Nazanin Boniadi, Time, 11 Mar. 2026

Definition of tormentors

Noun

These annoyances just barely prevent Hinge from dethroning our Editors' Choice winners for dating apps, Match and Tinder.

— Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 24 July 2026
Liam Gallagher continued his longtime legacy of talking crap about other artists with his recap of this year’s World Cup halftime show, tweeting out various annoyances that plagued him.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 20 July 2026

Definition of annoyances

Noun

In both cases, the assumption is the same—that theatergoers aren’t there for traditional superhero derring-do, only a cavalcade of Easter eggs and teases for upcoming installments to keep the Marvel gravy train running at full steam.

— David Sims, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
A number of Reeves’ social media teases have included glimpses of snow.

— Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026

Definition of teases

Noun

Mayor Shiro Suzuki said that while some countries argue the possession of nuclear weapons helps deter potential attackers, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had demonstrated that humans can cross the line.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
In fact, many of them use default or weak passwords, essentially enabling these attackers to go right in.

— CBS News, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of attackers

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“Persecutors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutors. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of persecutors

noun

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