victim

[vik-tim]

noun

1. a person who suffers from a destructive or injurious action or agency.

   A passing motorist offered assistance to the victims of a car accident.

   Victims of workplace abuse are encouraged to speak out.

2. a person who is deceived or cheated, as by their own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others, or by some impersonal agency.

   I had fully expected the flight to arrive on time, but I was the victim of misplaced confidence.

   The swindler’s victims report losing thousands of dollars in the scheme.

3. a person or animal sacrificed or regarded as sacrificed.

   war victims.

4. a living creature sacrificed in religious rites.

victim

/ ˈvɪktɪm /

noun

1. a person or thing that suffers harm, death, etc, from another or from some adverse act, circumstance, etc

   victims of tyranny

2. a person who is tricked or swindled; dupe

3. a living person or animal sacrificed in a religious rite

Usage

Referring to someone with a disability or chronic disease as a victim may make it seem as though they are defeated and made helpless by their condition. This can be avoided by using wording such as a person who has (or experiences ) or a person with the condition. Similarly, a person who has experienced abuse, especially sexual abuse or assault, may prefer to be known as a survivor rather than a victim, emphasizing their own agency and the fact of having come through the experience and striving to heal from it rather than continuing to be kept down by it. However, victim is often used in legal contexts, where the injustice and criminality of the abuse is in focus, or when speaking of its short- and long-term effects on the one who is abused. This term may also be preferred by those who wish to draw attention to the gravity of the abuse, or to the vulnerability of particular groups of people to the kind of violence in question. Still other terminology, such as victim-survivor, may be preferred by some individuals. As with all words referring to people, it is best to ask the person what their preference is.

Using the word victim or victims in relation to chronic illness or disability is often considered demeaning and disempowering. Alternative phrases such as who experiences , who has been diagnosed with , or simply with and then the name of the disability or illness, can be used instead

Other Word Forms

• victimhood noun
• victimless adjective
• nonvictim noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of victim¹

First recorded in 1490–1500 ; from Latin victima “sacrificial animal,” of disputed origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of victim¹

C15: from Latin victima

Example Sentences

Toulouse told AFP they were glad an investigation had been opened saying they and Jaminet were the victims of "embezzlement".

Read more on Barron's

The OT’s Jewish victims, like their non-Jewish counterparts, were forced to work on everything from underground armaments factories to V-2 rockets and even a railroad above the Arctic Circle in Norway.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The government has announced a new national day "to honour and remember" victims and survivors of terrorism in the UK.

Read more on BBC

Without proper testing, many fire victims don’t know how contaminated their homes are or what it might cost to fix them before the looming insurance deadline in January.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I researched that euthanasia story with the urgency of someone who could have been a victim,” she writes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• casualty 
• dead 
• fatality 
• injured www.thesaurus.com
• sufferer www.thesaurus.com
• wounded