persecutory

adjective

as in frightening

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 persecutory 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutory
  1. frightening
  2. harassing
  3. fearful
  4. terrifying
  5. chilling
  6. scary
  7. alarming
  8. horrible
Adjective
  • There is nothing more frightening than when the familiar starts acting strange, in movies or in life.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • And with Halloween nearly upon us, the question of what frightening, shocking, silly, classic, or demonically camp movies to press play on again (and again) has never been more pertinent.
    — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of frightening
Adjective
  • Then Clark put on a dribbling clinic, made nifty pass after nifty pass and became both a harassing presence on defense and the Fever's emotional leader during a 20-6 second-quarter run.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of harassing
Adjective
  • But in an edited video put out by the White House that showed her march to the podium, set to pickup-truck-commercial music, Zacharia appeared visibly fearful.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Some online have pledged to never ride a roller coaster again, too fearful of the unimaginable horror of falling out.
    — Taylor Croft, AJC.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of fearful
Adjective
  • Fifty years ago, scientists pioneering a terrifying gene-splicing technology figured out a way to collectively hit pause.
    — Nick Fountain, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Don’t worry, the breakdown starts in a hurry and Cardellini is terrifying, if perhaps not as sympathetic as the series requires long-term.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of terrifying
Adjective
  • Neither maudlin nor melodramatic, and without any glorification, the song is infected by the same chilling gloom which has glommed onto the best of Messrs Linkous, Berman, and Drake.
    — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2026
  • As Hal puts it the next morning, the chilling effect is very effective.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of chilling
Adjective
  • Desperate to get that handsome life back, Hagen undergoes an experimental procedure that initially works only to give way to a scary new reality with shape-shifting skin.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • When the company selling you the scary future publishes internal research saying the scary future has not shown up, that is a signal worth reading.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of scary
Adjective
  • Things get even more alarming when Eidra can’t reach Tom Libby and reports start rolling in that Vaughn is dismissing everyone in Trowbridge’s government who’d had a significant relationship with Kate and her team.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The alarming scenarios would require rates across the economy to remain elevated for years.
    — Matt Peterson, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of alarming
Adjective
  • There’s a big data center that just came to my community not long ago and their community engagement was horrible, absolutely horrible.
    — Dustin DeSoto, Vox, 16 Oct. 2026
  • After the third day of squirting an experimental drug up his nose, Dylan Meetze felt horrible.
    — Amy Maxmen, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of horrible

Browse Nearby Words

persecutors
persecutory
perseverance
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Persecutory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutory. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All