verb
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to punish or discriminate against selectively or unfairly
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to make a victim of
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to kill as or in a manner resembling a sacrificial victim
Related Words
See cheat.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of victimize
Explanation
To victimize is to make someone into a victim by harming or taking advantage of them in some way. A school bully might be known to victimize other kids on the playground. A victim is someone who has had something bad done to them, like the victim of a murder or a burglary. To victimize is to put someone in that position. A serial killer victimizes the people they kill. A swindler victimizes the people they cheat out of money. Abusive parents victimize their children. A football team that cheats victimizes the other team. When you hear about victimizing, you know someone has been hurt.
Vocabulary lists containing victimize
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Tasting the Sky
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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.
"Belated fixes cannot undo this harm. We must hold Big Tech accountable for giving abusers the power to victimize women and girls at the click of a button," Ahmed said.
From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026
“Any crime committed in Santa Monica is a crime too many; our department stands strong in the face of anyone who chooses to victimize those who are in this city.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2024
“Just gutless people trying to continue to victimize Gloria’s siblings and children.”
From Seattle Times • May 5, 2023
"People who associate with sociopaths are likely to become their victims, or to victimize other people while serving the sociopath's interests."
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2023
Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
