persecutes
Targets with cruelty
Persecutes is the third-person singular of persecute—to subject someone to prolonged cruel treatment, typically because of their identity, beliefs, or background.
Religious and ethnic minorities have been persecuted throughout history.
The word can also describe persistent harassment: He claims the IRS persecutes him with audits every year.
Persistently torments another
- victimizesTargets for harm
- tormentsCauses severe distress
- targetsIntended aims or marks
- discriminatesTreats unfairly by category
marginalizes · subjugates · tyrannizes · brutalizes · scapegoats · dehumanizes · demonizes · vilifies
Amounts owed or alleged
- indictsFormally accuses of crime
- suesInitiates a claim
- litigatesContests through courts
- harassesPersistently torments another
wrongful · unjust · railroads · show trial · kangaroo court · witch hunt · dissidents · whistleblowers
Those who intimidate others
- intimidatesFrightens into submission
- stalksFollows obsessively or secretly
- houndsDogs bred to track
- badgersStriped burrowing mustelids
torments · relentlessly · obsessively · targets · singles out · picks on · mobbing · cyberbullying
Those killed for convictions
- hereticsRejectors of official doctrine
- infidelsThose rejecting the faith
- apostatesThose who abandon belief
- blasphemersThose reviling the divine
converts · missionaries · believers · faithful · congregation · inquisition · crusades · witch trials
harasses
Persistently torments another
- victimizesTargets for harm
- tormentsCauses severe distress
- targetsIntended aims or marks
discriminates · marginalizes · subjugates · tyrannizes · brutalizes · scapegoats · dehumanizes · demonizes · vilifies · hounds
charges
Amounts owed or alleged
harasses · wrongful · unjust · railroads · show trial · kangaroo court · witch hunt · dissidents · whistleblowers · activists
bullies
Those who intimidate others
- intimidatesFrightens into submission
- stalksFollows obsessively or secretly
- houndsDogs bred to track
badgers · torments · relentlessly · obsessively · targets · singles out · picks on · mobbing · cyberbullying · trolling
martyrs
Those killed for convictions
- hereticsRejectors of official doctrine
- infidelsThose rejecting the faith
- apostatesThose who abandon belief
blasphemers · converts · missionaries · believers · faithful · congregation · inquisition · crusades · witch trials · burnings
persecutesprotects
Defends from threat
defends · shelters · shields · safeguards · supports
persecutesliberates
Sets free from captivity
frees · emancipates · delivers · releases · vindicates
- religious persecutionHarming others for faith
- political persecutionState punishment for beliefs
- persecution complexDelusion of being targeted
- ethnic persecutionTargeting groups by ancestry
- Jewish persecutionDiscrimination against Jewish people
- Christian persecutionOppression of church followers
persecute, persecution, persecuted, persecutor, persecuting, persecutions, persecutors, persecutory