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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Eidinger is perfect for the role, and his escalating temper tantrums — almost camp at first, with delicious echoes of Christoph Waltz’s Hans Landa — become frightening in their intensity.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
18 May 2026
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But at Medley Club, residents never lost power during the entire frightening ordeal.—
Jeffrey Steele,
Forbes.com,
18 May 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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As local officers have gotten more involved in anti-immigration efforts, some communities have become increasingly fearful of the police.—
Shoshana Walter,
Miami Herald,
11 May 2026
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus provides the voice of Miss Maple, renamed Lily and far more fretful and fearful than in the book.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
Adjective
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The tech is terrifying, but it’s treated matter-of-factly, played for barked laughs.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
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Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette star as the main couple, Bear and Nikki, who fall victim to the One Wish Willow, a wish-granting toy with terrifying results.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
16 May 2026
Adjective
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As Nikki transforms from an ordinary young woman into an unhinged force willing to do anything to keep Bear to herself, Navarrette delivers a seamless and chilling performance that has quickly positioned her as one of horror’s most exciting new talents.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
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There’s probably a smart, chilling film to be made about the terrors of smothering and relentless adoration — one imagines what Rod Serling would have done with something like this — but this isn’t really that film.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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Part of what makes Nikki so scary is that these intense moments seem to come out of nowhere.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
18 May 2026
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Two friends from Auburn and Berkeley were meeting halfway for a picnic in Sacramento but said even driving there in the strong wind was scary.—
Kayla Moeller,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
Adjective
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Some Democratic lawmakers said reports about Chinese citizens commissioning children via surrogate were alarming, but worried that proposals to redefine surrogacy could have unintended consequences.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
13 May 2026
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Bear attacks in Japan reach an alarming high Lethal bear attacks became a headline-making issue in Japan in 2025, when 13 people were killed nationwide across 100 attacks.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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Which is horrible, just that amount of women being murdered.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
17 May 2026
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Hmmm, a book about climate change, economic hardship, labor shortages, rising food prices, and a family having a horrible time?—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Persecutory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutory. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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