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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Vonn badly injured her left leg in a frightening crash in the Olympic downhill and won't be able to add points to her seasonal tally, but the American standout still leads the way with 400 points after two wins and three more podium results.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
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Friends reported that his pupils, which doubled in size during an attack, were frightening.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 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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And some of them were very fearful.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Mar. 2026
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That and the ensuing wave of arrests have made many fearful of taking to the streets again.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The frantic energy, the emotional volatility, the crazy eyes — Metcalf uses every tool in her acting arsenal to turn a cheap plot twist into the most terrifying adversary Sidney faces.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
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My mom was around at the time and told me stories about what that was like, just obviously terrifying.—
Nancy Tartaglione,
Deadline,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The length of the cold stratification process varies by species, so Phillips recommends looking up each plant’s specific chilling requirement and planning accordingly.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
26 Feb. 2026
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The state of Florida’s defense of their bill to the Eleventh Circuit is chilling.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But for the audience the scariest revelation in the conversation isn’t his dogmatism.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
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Dogs often learn from a young age that water isn’t scary.—
Popular Science Team,
Popular Science,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Sumrall said Wilson’s absence is precautionary, rather than alarming given him recent injury history.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Mar. 2026
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Even more concerning was that the reservoir continually shrunk in its scale as owners of the land refused to sell, forcing engineers to work with a smaller footprint and alarming scientists.—
Michael Adno,
Rolling Stone,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Whatever Americans think about what occurred this weekend, with the attendant death, economic disruption and other horrible human costs of war, to wish for anything other than that is to betray the brave Iranian people and its worried but hopeful diaspora, amply represented in our city.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Mar. 2026
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Iran has used those missiles, again, in a horrible way, firing them into cities and civilian centers in Israel.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Persecutory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutory. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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