1
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
people who were persecuted simply for practicing their religious faith
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to annoy
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
she likes to persecute her sister with pointless, annoying questions at very inopportune times
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of persecute
Her mother had misread something about the Property Brothers on the internet and was insisting that they were being persecuted for being Christian.
—
Patricia Lockwood, New Yorker, 18 May 2025
Leopoldo chose to be the voice of the people who elected him, and was persecuted for it.
—Imamu "mu" Tomlinson, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
After being persecuted for the nature of her work, the political scientist arrived to the U.S. in 2022 on a visa.
—Nicole Acevedo, NBC news, 27 May 2025
His parents, Marcelo Netto and Miriam Leitão, are both journalists who resisted the dictatorship and were persecuted.
—Marcelo Cajueiro, Variety, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for persecute
Patricia Lockwood, New Yorker, 18 May 2025
Leopoldo chose to be the voice of the people who elected him, and was persecuted for it.
—Imamu "mu" Tomlinson, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
After being persecuted for the nature of her work, the political scientist arrived to the U.S. in 2022 on a visa.
—Nicole Acevedo, NBC news, 27 May 2025
His parents, Marcelo Netto and Miriam Leitão, are both journalists who resisted the dictatorship and were persecuted.
—Marcelo Cajueiro, Variety, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for persecute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecute
Verb
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But visa issues may plague the lead-up to the event — and not just for athletes but the vast Olympics ecosystem, from coaches and families to sponsors and vendors to, of course, attendees.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
5 June 2025
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The wallet aims to solve cross-border payment challenges that have long plagued African creators.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
5 June 2025
Verb
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The comedy as a second-class sibling to the drama is a notion that has annoyed the people who make television comedies for years.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
7 June 2025
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In some cases, that will be obvious: You’ll get annoyed by weird or loud noises and odors, notice your energy bill has skyrocketed, or spot signs of a leak.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
3 June 2025
Verb
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Cabbages are afflicted by cabbage webworms, cabbage white moths, cabbage loopers, and other worms.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
15 June 2025
-
When the antibody was injected into the retinas of mice afflicted with retinitis pigmentosa, the action of PROX1 was blocked, retinal regeneration was restored, and vision returned for a period of over six months.—
Michael Franco,
New Atlas,
11 June 2025
Verb
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In prior birthday events, perhaps a couple arrived early and had a cocktail, but never the rest of the party together, so this hadn’t bothered me before.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
6 June 2025
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Understandably, the online narrative bothered the director as well.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
6 June 2025
Verb
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The footage includes a scene in which a Hitler look-alike is tortured.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2025
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In 2024, Chinese state media reported at least four separate cases of university students allegedly torturing cats.—
Rebecca Wright,
CNN Money,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump initially tapped to co-lead DOGE, pushed for an expansion of the program as way to attract global talent, irritating immigration hawks in the conservative movement.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
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Use Insect Repellent to Avoid Bug Bites Stinging, biting, and otherwise irritating bugs are prevalent in summer.—
Sarah Richards,
Verywell Health,
3 June 2025
Verb
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Imagine an aircraft carrier group besieged by a thousand drones in the Persian Gulf or Arabian Sea.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2025
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Cable news is besieged on one side by changing user behavior and on the other by unforgiving economics — one eroding attention, the other bleeding resources.—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Verb
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Say your mother kept bugging you to change a bad habit.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
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Next season is when all the little things start to bug me.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persecute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecute. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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