persecution
Targeted group harassment
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of people based on their identity—religion, ethnicity, political beliefs, or similar characteristics.
Unlike random cruelty, persecution implies sustained, targeted hostility: religious persecution, political persecution, persecution of minorities.
The term often appears in legal contexts, as when refugees claim asylum based on fear of persecution in their home countries.
A persecution complex is the belief, often unfounded, that others are conspiring against you.
Severe prolonged suffering
- afflictionCause of ongoing distress
- tribulationState of great distress
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- ordealDifficult, painful experience
hardship · victimization · abuse · cruelty · brutality · mistreatment · maltreatment · torture
Forcing into submission
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- suppressionForcible prevention or concealment
- dominationSupreme authority held
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
despotism · authoritarianism · totalitarianism · dictatorship · autocracy · censorship · coercion · enslavement
Suffering for conviction
- inquisitionSustained, probing investigation
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
- blasphemyIrreverence toward the sacred
crusades · pogrom · exile · diaspora · sanctuary · refuge · convert · dissident
Preformed unfavorable opinion
- bigotryIntolerance toward differing views
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- antisemitismBigotry toward Jewish people
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
homophobia · casteism · sectarianism · scapegoating · targeting · profiling · exclusion · segregation
Persistently pursuing or pressuring
- stalkingStealthy, persistent pursuit
- intimidationDeliberate fear-inducing pressure
- threatsDeclarations of intended harm
- bullyingAggressive repeated intimidation
taunting · badgering · hunting · surveillance · denouncement · informants · blacklisting · witch hunt
torment
Severe prolonged suffering
- afflictionCause of ongoing distress
- tribulationState of great distress
- anguishIntense mental suffering
ordeal · hardship · victimization · abuse · cruelty · brutality · mistreatment · maltreatment · torture · atrocity
subjugation
Forcing into submission
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- suppressionForcible prevention or concealment
- dominationSupreme authority held
tyranny · despotism · authoritarianism · totalitarianism · dictatorship · autocracy · censorship · coercion · enslavement · servitude
martyrdom
Suffering for conviction
- inquisitionSustained, probing investigation
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
blasphemy · crusades · pogrom · exile · diaspora · sanctuary · refuge · convert · dissident · believer
prejudice
Preformed unfavorable opinion
- bigotryIntolerance toward differing views
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- antisemitismBigotry toward Jewish people
xenophobia · homophobia · casteism · sectarianism · scapegoating · targeting · profiling · exclusion · segregation · ostracism
hounding
Persistently pursuing or pressuring
- stalkingStealthy, persistent pursuit
- intimidationDeliberate fear-inducing pressure
- threatsDeclarations of intended harm
bullying · taunting · badgering · hunting · surveillance · denouncement · informants · blacklisting · witch hunt · McCarthyism
- oppressionoppression, tyranny, racism, repression, secret police
- witch huntswitch trials, witch hunt, witch hunts, Salem witch trials, Salem trials
- Rousseausocial contract, Emile, Confessions, noble savage, natural state
- Biography Elementsearly life, education, influences, major works, death
- martyrdommartyrs, martyr, Christian martyrs, Catholic martyrs, Stephen
- harassment tacticsharassment, hounding, pestering, badgering, nagging
persecutionprotection
Guarding against harm
succor · support · help · care · assistance
persecutiontolerance
Willingness to accept difference
acceptance · inclusion · embrace · welcome · integration
persecutionliberation
Release from constraint
emancipation · freedom · liberty · enfranchisement · civil rights
- 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