Dictionary

persecution en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˌpɝsəˈkjuʃən/ (General-American)
• /ˌpɜːsəˈkjuːʃən/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Equivalent to persecute + -ion. From Middle English persecucioun, from Old French persecucion, from Ecclesiastical Latin persecūtio (“persecution; chase, pursuit”), from Latin persequor (“follow up, pursue”), from per- (“through”) + sequor (“follow”). Displaced native Old English ēhtnes.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The act of persecuting, especially a specific group of people; an instance of persecution.
   • […] to support or agree with the persecutions, beatings, dehumanizings, insults, murders, genocides, and oppressions of a perpetrator's target […] 2008, M. W. Sphero, Religion: The Defamer of God, page 210:
   • Many apartheid perpetrators escaped prosecution for their persecution of black Africans and political dissidents.
   • During the early 20th century, wolves were considered undesirable. They were subject to persecution and were extirpated from large areas of their original range. With increased environmental awareness in the 1970s, attitudes toward wolves began to change. 2004 January 1, “The Practices of Wolf Persecution, Protection, and Restoration in Canada and the United States”, in BioScience, Oxford University Press:
   • I see this not as persecution, but a learning chance to grow. 2024, Jhariah, “RE: CONCERNS”, in TRUST CEREMONY:
   • Few concepts are as emotionally charged as that of race. The word conjures up a mixture of associations—culture, ethnicity, genetics, subjugation, exclusion and persecution. But is the tragic history of efforts to define groups of people by race really a matter of the misuse of science, the abuse of a valid biological concept? 2012 March-April, Jan Sapp, “Race Finished”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 05 Sep 2015, page 164:

Forms

Deriveds

persecutional · antipersecution · fursecution · persecution complex · nonpersecution

Translations (60)

ja 迫害 (the act of persecuting) · hy հալածանք (the act of persecuting) · de Schikane (the act of persecuting) · sh progon (the act of persecuting) · cs perzekuce (the act of persecuting) · ru гоне́ние (the act of persecuting) · vi sự khủng bố (the act of persecuting) · grc διωγμός (the act of persecuting) · de Verfolgung (the act of persecuting) · lad afriisyon (the act of persecuting) · roa-brg porsécucion (the act of persecuting) · ru напа́дки (the act of persecuting) · cmn 迫害 (the act of persecuting) · es cacería (the act of persecuting) · el καταδίωξη (the act of persecuting) · lb Verfollegung (the act of persecuting) · hi प्रताड़ना (the act of persecuting) · eo persekutado (the act of persecuting) · fi vainoaminen (the act of persecuting) · ar اِضْطِهَاد (the act of persecuting) · nl vervolging (the act of persecuting) · bg гонение (the act of persecuting) · pdt Forcht (the act of persecuting) · fi vaino (the act of persecuting) · ga géarleanúint (the act of persecuting) · ang ēhtnes (the act of persecuting) · got 𐍅𐍂𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹 (the act of persecuting) · es persecución (the act of persecuting) · sv förföljelse (the act of persecuting) · es prosecución (the act of persecuting) · yi פֿאַרפֿאָלגונג (the act of persecuting) · fr persécution (the act of persecuting) · hi सताना (the act of persecuting) · nb forfølgelse (the act of persecuting) · da forfølgelse (the act of persecuting) · de Plage (the act of persecuting) · de Drangsalierung (the act of persecuting) · ru пресле́дование (the act of persecuting) · got 𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌰 (the act of persecuting) · ca persecució (the act of persecuting) · lad afrision (the act of persecuting) · hu üldöztetés (the act of persecuting) · it persecuzione (the act of persecuting) · yi רדיפֿה (the act of persecuting) · bg преследване (the act of persecuting) · he רדיפה (the act of persecuting) · ko 박해 (the act of persecuting) · ro persecutare (the act of persecuting) · fa آزار (the act of persecuting) · tr zulüm (the act of persecuting) · fi sorto (the act of persecuting) · ru тра́вля (the act of persecuting) · pl prześladowanie (the act of persecuting) · hu üldözés (the act of persecuting) · de Belästigung (the act of persecuting) · pt perseguição (the act of persecuting) · ka დევნა (the act of persecuting) · sh proganjanje (the act of persecuting) · ckb چەوساندنەوە (the act of persecuting) · el δίωξη (the act of persecuting)