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Showing results for persecute. Search instead for persecutee.
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.

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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

The people she chose, young and old, from the rich part of town or the more modest streets, did not individually persecute Cora.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Facebook isn’t the only Big Tech company that zealously persecutes leakers; Apple is currently embroiled in controversy over the way it handles employee whistleblowing.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 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

Their only wealth is what the world despises and persecutes.

From Commentary on Genesis, Vol. II Luther on Sin and the Flood by John Nicholas Lenker

The exhibition features work from artists forced into exile, silenced or persecuted and Zhemkova said it was a good example of Memorial's work outside Russia.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

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

His father checked the margin of the page for the textual corrections of Rabbi Elijah—the same Rabbi Elijah who had persecuted Hasidim!—and showed Danny that he had been quoting from the corrected text.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

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 contrasted with a long-standing Sikh tradition that, by as early as 1711, held Aurangzeb responsible for persecuting their spiritual leaders and community.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 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

“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




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