persecute
Americanverb (used with object)
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persecutes,
present (3rd person singular)
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persecuted,
past participle, past
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persecuting
present participle
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to pursue with harassing or oppressive treatment, especially because of religious or political beliefs, ethnic or racial origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
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to annoy or trouble persistently.
verb
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to oppress, harass, or maltreat, esp because of race, religion, etc
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to bother persistently
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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persecutivenessnoun
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persecutornoun
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overpersecuteverb (used with object)
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nonpersecutingadjective
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nonpersecutiveadjective
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nonpersecutoryadjective
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persecutiveadjective
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persecutoryadjective
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unpersecutingadjective
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unpersecutiveadjective
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persecutinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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persecutesimple
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persecutessimple
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have persecutedperfect
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has persecutedperfect
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am persecutingprogressive
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are persecutingprogressive
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is persecutingprogressive
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have been persecutingperfect progressive
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has been persecutingperfect progressive
Past
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persecutedsimple
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had persecutedperfect
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was persecutingprogressive
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were persecutingprogressive
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had been persecutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of persecute
First recorded in 1400–50; Late Middle English; back formation from persecutour “persecutor,” ultimately from Late Latin persecūtor originally “prosecutor,” equivalent to persecū-, variant stem of persequī “to prosecute, pursue closely” + -tor; see origin at per-, sequence, -tor
Explanation
To persecute is to make someone suffer or to keep them in bad circumstances. In some parts of the world governments or military groups persecute, or punish, people for religious beliefs, often sending them to prisons or work camps. You can use the verb persecute to talk about abusive acts against a person or group of people. Persecute is usually used to specify the harm done to a particular group, as when a person is persecuted for his affiliation with a religious group. Those born of a certain race or culture can be targets too. Adolf Hitler became notorious for his orders to persecute the Jewish people.
Vocabulary lists containing persecute
Grade 9, List 3
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 1
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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.
See Examples For:
Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong’s wife, led the Gang of Four, a radical faction that used the 1966-1967 Cultural Revolution to persecute perceived enemies and throw China into upheaval.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
It has many tools to persecute people who exercise or facilitate reproductive freedom within its borders.
From Slate ● May 15, 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
"The answer, we know from the Gospel, is love and always love. Love for our enemies, and love for those who persecute us."
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2025
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
It must send an unequivocal message that the United States will not supply weapons to military and security services whose leadership persecutes journalists and activists.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 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
This species frequently persecutes smaller birds in a way which seems to imply pure love of mischief.
From Argentine Ornithology, Volume I (of 2) A descriptive catalogue of the birds of the Argentine Republic. by W. H. (William Henry) Hudson
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
The species were persecuted to extinction as a breeding bird in the early 20th Century but returned to Scotland in the 1950s and have now recolonised other parts of the UK.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
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
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
This would be our first encounter with people who had been persecuted in Bosnia.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
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 is a declaration that faith is not on the side of persecuting the most vulnerable communities.
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2026
The ADF emerged in Uganda in the 1990s, accusing the government there of persecuting Muslims.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2025
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
