persecuting
Targeting with cruelty
Persecuting is subjecting someone to prolonged cruel or unjust treatment, especially because of their identity, beliefs, or membership in a group.
Religious and ethnic minorities have been persecuted throughout history.
The word implies systematic harassment rather than isolated incidents: The regime was persecuting dissidents.
Informally, persecuting can mean relentlessly bothering someone: Stop persecuting me about my grades.
Unfairly blamed person
- targetObject of pursuit
- mistreatTo harm or neglect
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- tormentSevere prolonged suffering
oppress · victimize · marginalize · ostracize · demean · exploit · brutalize · prey upon
Oppressive, absolute governance
- subjugationForcing into submission
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- dominationSupreme authority held
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
despotism · totalitarianism · suppression · dictatorship · coercion · enslavement · exploitation · censorship
Sustained, probing investigation
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
- martyrdomSuffering for conviction
- infidelNonbeliever in another's creed
crusade · zealotry · fanaticism · blasphemy · excommunication · auto-da-fé · convert · proselytize
Politically-motivated accusation without evidence
- witch-huntPersecution of supposed subversives
- blacklistRecord of prohibited entities
- red-baitingTarring opponents as communists
- HUACRed Scare congressional committee
purge · dissident · show trial · denunciation · surveillance · informant · secret police · propaganda
Persistently pursuing or pressuring
- tormentingCausing severe distress
- badgeringPersistent harassment or nagging
- stalkingStealthy, persistent pursuit
- intimidatingInspiring fear or unease
bullying · threatening · baiting · targeting · menacing · harrying · dogging · pressuring
Intolerance toward differing views
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
- sectarianismPrejudiced loyalty to subgroups
homophobia · antisemitism · Islamophobia · intolerance · bias · exclusion · segregation · profiling
scapegoat
Unfairly blamed person
torment · oppress · victimize · marginalize · ostracize · demean · exploit · brutalize · prey upon · single out
tyranny
Oppressive, absolute governance
- subjugationForcing into submission
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- dominationSupreme authority held
authoritarianism · despotism · totalitarianism · suppression · dictatorship · coercion · enslavement · exploitation · censorship · purge
inquisition
Sustained, probing investigation
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
- martyrdomSuffering for conviction
infidel · crusade · zealotry · fanaticism · blasphemy · excommunication · auto-da-fé · convert · proselytize · sectarian
McCarthyism
Politically-motivated accusation without evidence
- witch-huntPersecution of supposed subversives
- blacklistRecord of prohibited entities
- red-baitingTarring opponents as communists
HUAC · purge · dissident · show trial · denunciation · surveillance · informant · secret police · propaganda · counter-revolutionary
hounding
Persistently pursuing or pressuring
- tormentingCausing severe distress
- badgeringPersistent harassment or nagging
- stalkingStealthy, persistent pursuit
intimidating · bullying · threatening · baiting · targeting · menacing · harrying · dogging · pressuring · pursuing
bigotry
Intolerance toward differing views
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
sectarianism · homophobia · antisemitism · Islamophobia · intolerance · bias · exclusion · segregation · profiling · scapegoating
persecutingprotecting
Keeping from harm
defending · shielding · safeguarding · sheltering · guarding
persecutingsupporting
Bearing or sustaining
comforting · nurturing · caring for · helping · befriending
persecutingliberating
Setting free from constraint
freeing · emancipating · tolerating · empowering · championing
- 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