persecuted

[pur-si-kyoo-tid]

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.

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• unpersecuted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of persecuted¹

persecute ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

The group’s statement warned that “those forces have returned,” recalling what it called “a dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs.”

From Salon

“The fact remains that Comey is being persecuted, not prosecuted, for putting service to the nation above obedience to a man,” the Guardian’s Lawrence Douglas wrote.

From Salon

Instead, she lives in a trailer on the homestead, where she feels persecuted by the blazing sun that her tree canopy used to shield her from.

From Los Angeles Times

"Let us protect religious liberty," he told the UN, "including for the most persecuted religion on the planet today – it's called Christianity."

From BBC

My grandparents knew first hand what it was to be persecuted for who you were and what you thought or said.

From BBC

Related Words

• abused www.thesaurus.com
• destitute 
• distressed 
• enslaved 
• exploited 
• helpless