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 Note

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.

Usage

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 Words From

• vic·tim·hood noun
• vic·tim·less adjective
• non·vic·tim 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

Twelve of the victims were on foot or two wheels, down from 15 last year in a city that has focused efforts on measures to protect vulnerable road users.

From Washington Post

Essentially, it blames a victim a second time, and it works.

From Washington Blade

The victim was later identified as Dominic Anthony Nicholas Moye of Dumfries.

From Washington Post

Kling and the detective went door to door and foundmore victims.

From Washington Post

Covid, however, moved fast, burning through its victims not like the slow consumption of TB or the inner dissolution of cancer, but like a rapidly moving fire.

From Washington Post

And in so many of these events, the pattern of “blame the victim” was quickly in evidence.

From The Daily Beast

And that realization comes at the cost of severe, public embarrassment for many, including the victim/proposed.

From The Daily Beast

The victim, whom The Daily Beast is not naming, asked what Williams wanted and the pastor allegedly “reached in and grabbed him.”

From The Daily Beast

The episode that aired before it, which involved a campus rape victim, was highly controversial.

From The Daily Beast

Men ages 18 to 24 enrolled in college were more likely to become a victim.

From The Daily Beast

The virtuous statesman advanced to meet him, while his countenance proclaimed that he knew all, and sympathized with its victim.

From Project Gutenberg

Elizabeth left the blameless victim of all this wrath, standing in the middle of the floor.

From Project Gutenberg

He conspired against Richelieu, to whom he was indebted for much of his good fortune, and to whose resentment he fell a victim.

From Project Gutenberg

Forcing himself to believe that he had been the victim of some kind of illusory perception, he vigorously restrained his feelings.

From Project Gutenberg

As he was about to descend the tree to feed upon his victim, his wicked eyes saw the hunters for the first time.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• casualty
• dead
• fatality
• injured
• sufferer
• wounded