Showing results for "persecuted"

• past participle of persecute.
• past tense form of persecute.

persecuted

American  

[pur-si-kyoo-tid] / ˈpɜr sɪˌkju tɪd /

adjective

1. persistently harassed or oppressed, especially because of religious or political beliefs, ethnic or racial origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

   Having been raised in a frequently persecuted faith, the idea of any state religion makes me very nervous.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of persecute.

Other Word Forms

• unpersecuted
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of persecuted

persecute ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

persecuted

Department of State gave money to groups protecting free speech, human rights and persecuted minorities in poor and authoritarian countries.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 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

Not all Shias saw Khamenei as their principal religious guide, but he became widely respected as a clerical authority and for standing up for a sect that has historically felt persecuted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Recent polls have shown that an implausibly high percentage of Germans -- between 11 and 18 percent -- think their grandparents tried to help those being persecuted by the Nazi regime, Spohr noted.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

This would be our first encounter with people who had been persecuted in Bosnia.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

Related Words

• abused
• destitute
• distressed
• enslaved
• exploited
• helpless