Synonyms for persecute
All synonyms
Verb
1. Oppress — to pursue in a manner to do harm or cruelty to; especially, because of the victim's race, sexual identity, or…
oppress, harass, molest, abuse, vex, badger, provoke, afflict, distress, torment, devil, bother, rile, pester, exasperate, irritate, burn up, aggravate, hound, bedevil, trouble, plague
Other
Definitions
- v. 1
To pursue in a manner to do harm or cruelty to; especially, because of the victim's race, sexual identity, or adherence to a particular belief.
He who persecutes one will persecute all.
Related words
- Word family
- persecution
Forms
- Past participle
- persecuted
e.g. persecuted → oppressed, harassed, molested, abused…
Choose the right word
To persecute one is to ill-treat him for opinion's sake, commonly for religious belief; to oppress is generally for political or pecuniary motives.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- harass Skura wasn't the only girl that Yanni would harass.
- oppress Islam doesn't give men the right to oppress women.
- molest Tom attempted to molest the eight-year-old child.
- afflict My motto is: Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
By length
- 3 letters
- vex1
- 4 letters
- narc1, rile1
- 5 letters
- abuse2, devil2, annoy2, hound1
- 6 letters
- bother2, plague1, badger2, harass2, molest2, pester2
- 7 letters
- trouble2, provoke2, torment2, oppress2, dragoon, afflict2, bedevil3
- 8 letters
- distress2, irritate3
- 9 letters
- aggravate3
- 10 letters
- exasperate4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (abuse2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- persécuter
- Deutsch
- verfolgen