Meaning & use
victimized
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having been singled out for cruel, dishonest or unfair treatment.
Grammar: Usually follows a linking verb or appears before a noun: felt victimized, victimized workers.
Patterns
- feel victimized
- victimized by someone
- victimized for something
Several tenants felt victimized by the landlord's sudden rent increases.
The victimized employees filed a complaint with the labor board.
He claimed to be victimized for speaking up at the meeting.
adjectivebefore a noun
Hurt or cheated by a crime such as theft, fraud or assault.
Grammar: Often found in news and police reports: victimized customers.
Patterns
- victimized by a scam
- victimized customers
Victimized customers were refunded after the scam was discovered.
Many elderly residents were victimized by the phone fraud.
Police urged victimized families to come forward.
Word forms
| comparative | more victimized |
|---|---|
| superlative | most victimized |
Common combinations
- feel victimized
- After the layoffs, many staff felt victimized.
- repeatedly victimized
- The same shop was repeatedly victimized by thieves.
- victimized by fraud
- Hundreds were victimized by the investment fraud.
- victimized by bullying
- Children victimized by bullying often hide it.
- victimized communities
- Victimized communities asked for stronger protection.
Synonyms and how they differ
- targeted
- Targeted says someone was chosen deliberately but does not always mean they were harmed, while victimized stresses suffering.
- persecuted
- Persecuted suggests long, organized mistreatment, often for beliefs or identity, which is stronger than victimized.
- wronged
- Wronged is a general, slightly literary word for being treated unjustly, with no suggestion of a crime.
- exploited
- Exploited means used unfairly for another's gain, whereas victimized stresses being harmed or cheated.
Opposites
Word family
- victim noun
- a person who is harmed or cheated
- victimize verb
- to treat someone unfairly or harm them
- victimization noun
- the act of unfairly treating or harming someone
- victimhood noun
- the state of being a victim
Commonly confused: victimized or victorious?
victimized vs victorious
Victorious means having won, so it is the opposite of being mistreated, though the spelling looks similar.
Practice
Many shoppers felt ___ after the store secretly added hidden fees to their bills.
Choose one answer.
Victimized means cheated or treated unfairly, which fits hidden fees. Vindicated means proven right, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “victimized”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.