victimization
Americannoun
-
the act of making someone into a victim by harming or killing them.
Mentally ill people who wander these streets are particularly vulnerable to victimization by criminal predators.
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the act or fact of blaming others for the hardships one encounters in life.
That school of thought says that victimization is an attitude: you may have no control over what happens to you, but you can control what you do with it.
Etymology
Origin of victimization
First recorded in 1840–50; victimiz(e) ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )
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.
Some researchers caution that victimization surveys don’t line up with the fall in reported crime, possibly muddying the picture for some offenses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026
This helps the empathizer make sense of things, but it sounds more like victimization and a savior complex than empathy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025
As a result, we end up feeling like victims of fire, and victimization will be an obstacle to problem-solving.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2025
Because that added another level of victimization to them.
From Salon • Jun. 1, 2024
These fictional dramas, like the evening news, tend to focus on individual stories of crime, victimization, and punishment, and the stories are typically told from the point of view of law enforcement.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
