as in harassment
something that causes mental distress
The media's constant persecution was beginning to affect their lives.
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Recent Examples of persecution
Legally, there is supposed to be an exception for people who express fear of persecution in their home country and request an opportunity to seek asylum, Webb said.
Berezhnova-Gunel was not seeking asylum, Nations said.
—
Daniel Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
In response, Anglicans turned from legal discrimination to outright persecution.
—Time, 10 July 2025
In 1648, a group of English Puritans set sail from Bermuda to avoid religious persecution only to smack into Devil’s Backbone reef.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 9 July 2025
The best example were a group of Uyghurs that the Administration—actually both the Bush and the Obama Administrations—determined could not be returned to China for fear of persecution, but holding them at Guantánamo ultimately became untenable.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for persecution
Daniel Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
In response, Anglicans turned from legal discrimination to outright persecution.
—Time, 10 July 2025
In 1648, a group of English Puritans set sail from Bermuda to avoid religious persecution only to smack into Devil’s Backbone reef.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 9 July 2025
The best example were a group of Uyghurs that the Administration—actually both the Bush and the Obama Administrations—determined could not be returned to China for fear of persecution, but holding them at Guantánamo ultimately became untenable.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for persecution
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecution
Noun
-
The Sweeney ad has been the subject of both online praise and anger for over a week.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
2 Aug. 2025
-
And our film has caused disruption and fierce anger among veteran photographers all these decades later.—
Gary Knight,
Rolling Stone,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
If the body senses irritation in the nose and is not in a deep stage of sleep, then someone may wake up to sneeze.—
Valerie Cacho,
Verywell Health,
29 July 2025
-
These combinations can cause irritation or reduce effectiveness.—
Adam Hurly,
Robb Report,
29 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persecution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecution. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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