victimize

[vik-tuh-mahyz]

verb (used with object), vic·tim·ized, vic·tim·iz·ing.

to make a victim of.

to dupe, swindle, or cheat: to victimize poor widows.

to slay as or like a sacrificial victim.

Also especially British, vic·tim·ise.

Origin of victimize

First recorded in 1820–30; victim + -ize

Related formsvic·tim·i·za·tion, nounvic·tim·iz·er, nounun·vic·tim·ized, adjective

Synonyms for victimize

2. defraud, fool, hoodwink, beguile.

Synonym study

2. See cheat.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for victimised

Historical Examples of victimised

Of what class were their previous victims, and how victimised?
The Uncommercial Traveller
Charles Dickens
Travellers are bound to be victimised, and the best thing you can do is to laugh.
Pictures of Canadian Life
J. Ewing Ritchie
You were victimised by self-delusion when I first met you, at the time you thought you had discovered perpetual motion.
In the Track of the Troops
R.M. Ballantyne
I was victimised, as will appear in the course of my narration, for the truth of which I can refer to a crowd of worthy witnesses.
The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi
Count Carlo Gozzi
He was victimised often and knew it, but the knowledge never dulled the edge of an insatiable appetite.
Corot
Sidney Allnutt

British Dictionary definitions for victimised

victimize

victimise

verb (tr)

to punish or discriminate against selectively or unfairly

to make a victim of

to kill as or in a manner resembling a sacrificial victim

Derived Formsvictimization or victimisation, nounvictimizer or victimiser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for victimised

victimize

1830, from victim + -ize. Related: Victimized; victimizing.