as in frightening
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Recent Examples of persecutory
For example, Americans living during World War II developed persecutory delusions involving Germans, while those living during the Cold War focused on communists.
—
Alaina Vandervoort Burns, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
Alaina Vandervoort Burns, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutory
Adjective
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The bodycam video was an eye-opening look at the frightening aftermath of the Brown campus shooting when police were searching room-by-room for the suspect, trying to comfort and care for terrified students, and trying to coordinate with campus police to get past locked doors.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
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In 2017 Dikansh Parmar of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change in Germany, rescued an Indian cobra (Naja naja) coiled around a train’s window bars that was hissing and, understandably, frightening passengers.—
Richard Kemeny,
Scientific American,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The first complaint, in which a clerk made similar accusations of abusive and harassing conduct, was filed with the circuit court in 2022, not long after Merriam’s appointment.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
1 Jan. 2026
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The line is crossed when someone’s conduct at work becomes disrespectful, harassing, intimidating, discriminatory, or disruptive to the team.—
Johnny C. Taylor Jr,
USA Today,
30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Public opinion surveys conducted for the report show much of the world is already fearful that is happening.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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Khanna said his office had been flooded with calls and emails as the mixed messaging left many local residents fearful.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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After reviewing footage from monitoring cameras set up in the child’s room, the father, who has not been publicly identified, saw a terrifying incident of violence against his son, which had taken place two days earlier, according to authorities.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2026
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Many mothers in the Twin Cities marched the streets in the wake of the murders and terrifying kidnappings by ICE, and many mothers organized in other ways, moving food and money to food shelves, families sheltering-in-place, and rent relief funds.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But even without an arrest, First Amendment advocates say the law has a chilling effect.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Feb. 2026
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As part of the package, the White House is seeking to codify a dangerous government price control precedent into law that will have a chilling effect on medical innovation and patient choice.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The scariest jump in ice skating requires your shoulders, hips, knees and feet to be in perfect alignment.—
Kelly O'Grady,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
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Range anxiety never sounded so scary.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Food preferences begin in the first years of life, so the findings of the study are alarming, said Jane Houlihan, research director for Healthy Babies, Bright Futures, an alliance of nonprofits, scientists and donors with a mission of reducing babies’ exposures to neurotoxic chemicals.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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The National Transportation Safety Board said the FAA and the Army did not share safety data with each other about the alarming number of close calls around Reagan National Airport and failed to address the risks.—
Darlene Superville,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Miami is now 27-26, still mired in play-in territory, entering today’s matinee at horrible Washington.—
Greg Cote
February 8,
Miami Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
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A lot of things have happened with regard to that horrible situation the last couple of hours.—
Kathy Tulumello,
AZCentral.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Persecutory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutory. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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