Meaning & use
persecution
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Meanings
noununcountable
Long-lasting harsh and unfair treatment of a person or group, usually because of their beliefs, ethnicity or identity.
Grammar: Mostly uncountable: they fled persecution. The plural is rare and refers to separate campaigns.
Patterns
- persecution of someone
- persecution by someone
- persecution for something
Thousands left the country to escape religious persecution.
The persecution of journalists has worsened this year.
Her family endured persecution for decades because of their language.
noununcountablefigurative
Repeated annoying or hostile treatment that makes someone feel hunted or tormented.
Grammar: Often figurative and informal in tone, as in a persecution complex.
Patterns
- persecution complex
He talks about constant persecution from his neighbors, though they only asked him to turn the music down.
The actor complained of media persecution after the photographs appeared.
Word forms
| plural | persecutions |
|---|
Common combinations
- flee persecution
- Many refugees flee persecution at home.
- religious persecution
- The settlers had suffered religious persecution in Europe.
- face persecution
- Minority groups still face persecution in some regions.
- political persecution
- He claimed political persecution after his arrest.
- escape persecution
- They crossed the border to escape persecution.
- persecution complex
- His persecution complex made every criticism sound like an attack.
Synonyms and how they differ
- oppression
- Oppression stresses the heavy weight of unjust power over a group, while persecution stresses active hostile targeting.
- harassment
- Harassment can be small-scale and personal, whereas persecution suggests a serious, organized pattern.
- victimization
- Victimization is wider and may be a single unfair act, while persecution is sustained.
- mistreatment
- Mistreatment is general and need not be due to identity, unlike persecution.
Opposites
Word family
- persecute verb
- to treat a person or group cruelly and unfairly over a long time
- persecutor noun
- someone who persecutes others
- persecuted adjective
- suffering such treatment
- persecutory adjective
- relating to or involving persecution
Commonly confused: persecution or prosecution?
persecution vs prosecution
Prosecution is a legal process of bringing charges in court, while persecution is cruel, unfair treatment; the sounds are similar but the meanings differ.
Practice
Many people applied for asylum because they feared ____ for their political views.
Choose one answer.
Persecution means sustained unfair treatment because of beliefs. Prosecution is a legal action and is the tempting but wrong look-alike.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “persecution”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.