MEANING
To subject someone to sustained hostility or mistreatment, often for identity or belief.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- persecute a minority
On the page
The authorities persecuted the sect.
He believed his neighbors were persecuting him.
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- persecute
- Past tense
- persecuted
- Past participle
- persecuted
- Present participle
- persecuting
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- persecute
- Present continuous
- am/is/are persecuting
- Present perfect
- have/has persecuted
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been persecuting
- Past
- persecuted
- Past continuous
- was/were persecuting
- Past perfect
- had persecuted
- Past perfect continuous
- had been persecuting
- Future
- will persecute
- Future continuous
- will be persecuting
- Future perfect
- will have persecuted
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been persecuting
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Forms: persecute; persecutes; persecuted; persecuted; persecuting Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: persecutes.
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