MEANING
Relating to persecution or to the belief that one is being targeted, harmed, or harassed.
Use it for
A narrator interpreting events as a coordinated threat; ambiguity between pursuit and belief; clinical discussion of targetingKeep the evidence and the person's interpretation separate so uncertainty is genuine.
Words that belong together
- persecutory belief
- persecutory delusion
- persecutory interpretation
On the page
The report described a persecutory belief but left the threats unexplained.
His persecutory interpretation turned each missed call into evidence.
She refused to call the account persecutory before checking the recordings.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- persecutory
Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Often clinical in persecutory beliefs or delusions; the adjective alone does not establish whether a threat is real. Do not dismiss evidence merely because someone feels targeted. Adjective; comparison: more persecutory, most persecutory. Derived/related family (not inflections): persecute (verb), persecution (noun).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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