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
-
The mind could wander briefly about the Giants riding a two-game winning streak into a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Eagles, equipped to knock off their tormentors who suddenly look vulnerable.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
There appears to be no limit to his sensitivity or his determination to humble his tormentors.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Outer openings not protected against entry of pests.—
Gege Reed,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Thoroughly inspect all home goods by checking for visible damage, odors, missing pieces, and signs of pests.—
Maria Sabella,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 Oct. 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
-
Peaky Blinders creator and writer Steven Knight is making good on his many teases that the story of the Shelby family would not end with the original TV series’ sixth season, nor the upcoming feature film.—
Nancy Tartaglione,
Deadline,
2 Oct. 2025
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Living together in the Fear House, a group of strangers face OMG stunts, challenges, and a twisted game of social strategy, Banijay teases.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Authorities said the attackers ambushed the convoy with fireworks, molotov cocktails and rocks.—
Isa Cardona,
CNN Money,
7 Oct. 2025
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The company also has not specified which contact fields, such as email, phone, or address, attackers accessed.—
,
FOXNews.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persecutors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutors. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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