persecute
/ˈpɝsəkjut/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.79 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
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.
verb
To harass with importunity; to pursue with persistent solicitations; to annoy.
Example Sentences
- "He who persecutes one will persecute all."
- "I have heard, brethren, how sharply Antichrist persecuteth you, in vexing the faithful servants of Christ with divers and strange kinds of afflictions."
- ""Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.""
- "One of the village's most notable sons was Thomas Grantham, a Baptist church leader born in 1634, who was persecuted and imprisoned in the struggle for nonconformist beliefs during the reign of Charles II."
- "Humans have been persecuting wolves in this forest for centuries."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French persécuter, from Ecclesiastical Latin persecutor, from Latin persequor, persecutus (“follow up, pursue”), from per- (“through”) + sequor (“follow”) (English sequel). Compare prosecute. Cf. also pursue.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Prefix: per
- Root: *sekʷ-, persécuter, persecutor, persequor
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɝsəkjut/
- British English: /ˈpɜːsɪkjuːt/
Inflected Forms
persecutes (present, singular)
persecuting (participle, present)
persecuted (participle, past)
persecuted (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
persecuted (first person, past)
persecutest (archaic, present)
persecuted (past, second person)
persecutedst (archaic, past)
persecuteth (archaic, present)
persecuted (past, singular)