as in frightening
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Recent Examples of persecutory
For example, Americans living during World War II developed persecutory delusions involving Germans, while those living during the Cold War focused on communists.
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Alaina Vandervoort Burns, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
Alaina Vandervoort Burns, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutory
Adjective
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What began as a quiet evening quickly turned frightening after the couple climbed onto the jetty rocks to look for shells and crabs.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
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By the time of The Social Reckoning, a website that was once used to rate the attractiveness of women has gone on to disrupt global politics on a frightening scale.—
Brianna Zigler,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 June 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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Furthermore, Kalambay casts doubt on the idea that Ilunga was fearful for his own or his family’s life.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
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Fiction can be tempting when facts prove elusive, and Tannahill’s series cherishes dancing between the demanding allure of the unknown and the fearful certainty of what can happen when pursuing it.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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The series follows the residents of a remote island town called Widow’s Bay, just off the coast of New England, that just so happens to be cursed and haunted with all manner of terrifying things.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
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The premise sees the town’s citizens coming around a campfire and spilling the beans on some of most terrifying deeds.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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Unlike a pitcher of drinks that need ice or a bottle of wine that requires chilling, freezer door cocktails give you a perfectly ice-cold summer cocktail ready to pour at a moment's notice.—
Cameron Beall,
Southern Living,
13 June 2026
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For anyone planning a 30-year retirement, that is a chilling statistic.—
Chris Kline,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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But the idea of transferring to a new school was scary.—
Susan Svrluga,
Washington Post,
15 June 2026
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It's been scary, and it's been really hard to navigate.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 June 2026
Adjective
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During the off-season, a board member drove by Harris Roads Field, home of the Ypsilanti National Little League, and made an alarming discovery.—
Veronica Ortega,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
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Bright red toadstools, funky jelly fungus, and rounded puffball mushrooms in lawn grass may look alarming.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
16 June 2026
Adjective
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The companies try to slow down this process by submerging it in oil, but the resulting flavor is horrible.—
Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner,
Martha Stewart,
13 June 2026
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Your cab driver is taking you on a horrible route.—
Zach Schiffman,
Curbed,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Persecutory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutory. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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