| Main Entry: | afflict |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cause or become hurt |
| Synonyms: | agonize, annoy, beset, bother, burden, crucify, distress, grieve, harass, harrow, harry, irk, lacerate, martyr, oppress, pain, pester, plague, press, rack, smite, strike, torment, torture, trouble, try, vex, worry, wound |
| Notes: | afflict is generally used with living beings; inflict is generally used with inanimate objects inflict takes 'on,' afflict takes 'with' |
| Antonyms: | aid, comfort, help, solace, stay away from, take care of |
| Main Entry: | agonize |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | suffer or cause another to suffer |
| Synonyms: | afflict, bleed, carry on, crucify, distress, disturb, eat heart out, excruciate, harrow, hurt, labor, lament, martyr, pain, rack, sing the blues, squirm, stew over, strain, strive, struggle, take it badly, torment, torture, try, wince, worry, writhe |
| Antonyms: | not worry |
| Main Entry: | crucify |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | execute; torture near to death |
| Synonyms: | excruciate, hang, harrow, kill, martyr, martyrize, nail to cross, persecute, rack, torment, torture |
| Antonyms: | exalt |
| Main Entry: | hero/heroine |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | brave person; champion |
| Synonyms: | ace, adventurer, celebrity, combatant, conqueror, daredevil, demigod, diva, exemplar, gallant, god, goddess, great person, heavy, ideal, idol, lead, leading person, lion, martyr, model, paladin, person of the hour, popular figure, prima donna, principal, protagonist, saint, star, superstar, tin god, victor, worthy |
| Main Entry: | hurt |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cause mental pain |
| Synonyms: | abuse, afflict, aggrieve, annoy, burn, chafe, constrain, cut to the quick, discomfit, discommode, displease, distress, excruciate, faze, give no quarter, go for jugular, grieve, hit where one lives, injure, lambaste, lay a bad trip on, lean on, martyr, martyrize, prejudice, punish, put down, put out, sadden, sting*, thumb nose at, torment, torture, try, upset, vex, vitiate, work over, wound, zing |
| Antonyms: | calm, placate, please, relieve, soothe |
| Main Entry: | persecute |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | wrong, torment |
| Synonyms: | afflict, aggrieve, annoy, badger, bait, be on one's case, beat, bother, crucify, distress, dog*, dragoon, drive up the wall, exile, expel, harass, hector, hound, hunt, ill-treat, injure, maltreat, martyr, molest, oppress, outrage, pester, pick on, plague, pursue, tease, torture, tyrannize, vex, victimize, worry |
| Notes: | persecute means 'to harass or treat unjustly'; prosecute is 'to bring legal action against' or 'to pursue something until the end' |
| Antonyms: | comfort, commend, console, reward, soothe |
| Main Entry: | prey |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | target of attack |
| Synonyms: | casualty, chased, dupe*, game, kill, loot, mark, martyr, mug, pillage, quarry, quest, raven, spoil, sufferer, underdog, victim |
| Antonyms: | attacker |
| Main Entry: | rack |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | torture; strain |
| Synonyms: | afflict, agonize, crucify, distress, excruciate, force, harass, harrow, martyr, oppress, pain, persecute, pull, shake, stress, stretch, tear, torment, try, wrench, wring |
| Notes: | rack is the linear gear and pinion is the circular gear in a mechanism rack is destruction and ruin is destitution; in rack and ruin, rack is a variation of wrack and wreck |
| Antonyms: | please, pleasure, soothe |