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Definitions

persecute

[pur-si-kyoot] / ˈpɜr sɪˌkjut /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

It has many tools to persecute people who exercise or facilitate reproductive freedom within its borders.

From Slate May 15, 2026

John Adams pushed Congress in 1798 to pass the Alien and Sedition Acts, measures that allowed the government to deport and otherwise persecute critics of the administration.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 8, 2026

“Throughout the Scripture, there are two kinds of leaders: those who persecute faith communities and those who protect them,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 25, 2026

So what motivated people to persecute these women?

From BBC Mar. 17, 2024

It seemed that Bobby had lapsed over the years into a state of increasingly frequent paranoia, believing as he did that people and organizations, bonded in a conspiracy, were out to persecute him.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

It must send an unequivocal message that the United States will not supply weapons to military and security services whose leadership persecutes journalists and activists.

From Slate Feb. 26, 2021

While Emperor Domitian persecutes the Christians, the aged apostle John has prophetic visions.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 8, 2019

In the Bible, Saul persecutes Christians before he has a conversion experience on the road to Damascus and becomes the apostle Paul.

From The New Yorker Sep. 11, 2018

When Americans hear about “tribalism,” they often imagine a faraway land where one ethnic or religious faction mercilessly persecutes another for generations.

From New York Times Jun. 26, 2018

Indeed the Doctor persecutes the name of Theobald with the most rancorous spirit of revenge.

From Deformities of Samuel Johnson, Selected from his Works by Anonymous

Many of the boats heading south from the Myanmar Bangladesh border that year instead headed to Aceh in Indonesia, whose fishing communities initially welcomed these fellow, persecuted Muslims.

From BBC Jul. 17, 2026

Even after 1964, when Leonid Brezhnev halted reforms, persecuted dissidents and presided over what came to be regarded as “the era of stagnation,” the arbitrary arrests of millions did not resume.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 10, 2026

“I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.”

From Salon Jul. 1, 2026

“This fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise,” the statement read.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 1, 2026

They were afraid of Yossarian and persecuted him incessandy with nagging generosity and with their exasperating insistence on doing small favors for him.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Rome’s shift from persecuting Christians to forming partnerships with them helped stabilize a weakened political order and opened a new era in the empire’s history.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 17, 2026

This is a declaration that faith is not on the side of persecuting the most vulnerable communities.

From Slate Feb. 27, 2026

But they became giants in an era when employers were effectively free to pull out all the stops in blocking and, in some cases, persecuting union organizers.

From Seattle Times Apr. 28, 2024

My Ukrainian Jewish parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were comfortably ensconced in the Midwest when Hitler began persecuting the Jews; I have no familial connection to the Holocaust.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 28, 2024

“Lance, have you heard the news? A messenger has just arrived to say that this girl who is persecuting you is on her way to court, bringing the baby. She will be here this evening.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White




Vocabulary lists containing persecute


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