1
as in tormenters
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of persecutors
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
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
-
Decades ago, marshes were considered nuisances, soggy flats to be drained, dried, and made waterproof with liberal coatings of asphalt.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
For decades, generals, coup-plotters, and torturers walked free under the shield of amnesty laws passed after the country’s 21-year dictatorship.—
Julia Vargas Jones,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Each regime, from the Pahlavi dynasty to the Islamic Republic, claimed to uphold human rights and castigated its predecessors as torturers, only to ratchet up the incarceration of political opponents.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Brown-Trickey was eventually suspended for standing up to her tormentors, while her white aggressors went unpunished.—
Time,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
While on your daily garden walk, take a moment to pause here and there and let your eyes roam, looking for pests.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Summer pruning helps remove lanky growth and improve airflow to discourage disease and pests.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One of my long-standing annoyances with macOS was the lack of control over the menu bar.—
Edward Mendelson,
PC Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Minor annoyances suddenly widen into a chasm neither can cross.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Chu teases of the second movie's new numbers.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Sep. 2025
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The trailer for the film teases that Perfidia was apprehended by law enforcement prior to the start of the movie's events, leaving Bob and Willa to go on the run and seek refuge with an ally, portrayed by Benicio del Toro.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Instead of drowning in alerts or chasing attackers who are already inside the network, predictive systems aim to use machine learning, behavioral analysis and data mapping to forecast where vulnerabilities exist and which risks matter most.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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The trend shows that attackers can leverage emerging AI during the hacking process, including attack scenario planning, malware development, building their tools and to impersonate job recruiters, said Mun Chong-hyun, director at Genians.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persecutors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutors. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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