prosecuted

verb

past tense of prosecute
as in executed
to carry through (as a process) to completion the neurologists plan to prosecute their research for as long as funding remains available

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 prosecuted Miller, who prosecuted the case back in 2004 and 2005, sent Fernandez Rundle texts questioning her office’s handling of the case and denigrating the judge presiding over Smith’s resentencing. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 4 Nov. 2026 The Nuremberg women testified, prosecuted, wrote, translated and painted. — Natalie Livingstone, Sun Sentinel, 3 Nov. 2026 Prosecutors have said that since Mangione was not prosecuted for federal firearms offenses, there is no double jeopardy if the state level ones remain on the table. — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026 In recent weeks, the Department of Justice has sent subpoenas to election officials in California, and reminded officials that they could be criminally prosecuted for allowing ineligible voters to cast ballots. — Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, 2 Nov. 2026 The Justice Department declined to comment on whether or not Logan might be prosecuted. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2026 In March 2026, David filed a civil rights lawsuit against several parties responsible for his charges and alleged that he was wrongfully prosecuted, per Action News 5. — Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2026 Being registered to vote when not eligible is a misdemeanor under federal law, generally prosecuted on an individual basis. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2026 Her defense team moved to dismiss the charges against Clancy on the grounds of double jeopardy — a law that prevents defendants from being prosecuted more than once for the same crime. — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prosecuted
  1. executed
  2. performed
  3. accomplished
  4. fulfilled
  5. achieved
  6. did
  7. made
Verb
  • No one has been executed in the state since 2006 and California has the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2026
  • In July, Florida executed two prisoners on the same day, the first double execution by a single state in nearly a decade.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of executed
Verb
  • Chazi Rutz, a professional skydiver from Arizona, told The Times that the two skydivers were part of a group training to set a California record for largest formation in the upright orientation performed by women.
    — Iris Kwok Follow Nov. 6, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The 2012 edition showed us there was genuine appetite for Dracula in audio, and that the epistolary structure of letters and diary entries actually works beautifully when performed by multiple voices.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of performed
Verb
  • For progressives, deterrence can be more readily accomplished than centrists believe, both because the United States’ existing military power is sufficient and because China is not an aggressive revisionist power like Russia.
    — THOMAS WRIGHT, Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The ascent to the top was complete at the end of March Madness in 2023 and since then, Hurley has accomplished something much harder, and rarer.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of accomplished
Verb
  • The gig fulfilled a longtime dream for Letterman, according to a Vulture interview with My Next Guest Needs No Introduction showrunner Isabel Richardson and Gilded Age executive producer Kate Churchill.
    — Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Orders reflect current demand, while sales represent past demand that's been fulfilled — and investors are always looking toward the future.
    — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of fulfilled
Verb
  • Vella and DeTore already achieved perfect synthesis of psychedelia and death-doom on Song of Salvation.
    — Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 9 Nov. 2026
  • Investing involves market risk, including possible loss of principal, and there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be achieved.
    — Adam Frank, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of achieved
Verb
  • Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, nor did HUD officials.
    — Lizzie Kane, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Wisconsin Republicans did the same last year, and similar efforts have been raised in other states.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2025
Definition of did
Verb
  • In her remarks, Wintour made the evening’s only direct reference to the midterms, reminiscing about attending a fundraising event for James Talarico, who successfully flipped Texas in the race for the Senate last night, alongside Burch.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Black asserts that the statements made by Garcia are false and that traveling to appear on national television to make such statements about the inquiry into Epstein’s crimes goes beyond the purview of a member of Congress.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of made

Browse Nearby Words

prosecute
prosecuted
prosecutes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Prosecuted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prosecuted. Accessed 10 Nov. 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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of defer

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

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

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

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
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All