All words

persecute

Meaning

To pursue with menacing hostility or ill-treatment, especially because of race, religion, or beliefs.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

They had to hide their true selves, living in constant fear. People would shout and throw things, trying to persecute them just for who they were and what they believed. It was a hard life, always looking over their shoulders.

The villagers learned to hide their woven star charms. Any elder caught with one was dragged from their homes and forced to endure the harsh sun, the others watching, afraid to intervene, as their leaders swore to persecute anyone who clung to the old ways.

The little rock collectors knew the bigger kids would find them again. They hid their prized geodes, their hearts thumping. The older boys often found them, yelling insults and trying to knock their treasures from their hands. They seemed to enjoy making the younger ones cry, to persecute them for their quiet hobby.

They tried to make the small group leave, constantly threatening them and making their lives hard. This was because the attackers hated their different beliefs. The attackers would persecute anyone who wouldn't agree with them, making sure to make them suffer.

The king really liked shiny socks, but his people wore dull ones. He'd chase anyone with boring footwear, not to hurt them, but to force them to wear his sparkly collection. He'd *persecute* them with glitter and sequined tubes until they surrendered their drab foot coverings.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

The villagers, fueled by fear and suspicion, began to persecute anyone who dared to believe differently. They drove families from their homes, their every action steeped in a cruel, relentless anger meant to break their spirits.

The lone tinkerer, with his forbidden theories about sonic resonance, knew they would eventually find him. For years, whispers followed him, neighbors ostracized him, and authorities threatened to shut down his workshop. They wanted to persecute him, not for any crime, but simply because his ideas about the hum of the cosmos unsettled them.

They hid in the shadows, their whispers filled with hate. Anyone who dared to believe differently was hunted, made to suffer for their faith. It was a cruel world where people would persecute their neighbors for simply being who they were.

They were forced to flee their ancestral lands, their small farming community now a target. The new regime would not tolerate their ancient harvest rituals, choosing instead to persecute them for their deeply held traditions and unique seed-saving practices.

The village elders decided to persecute the new arrivals, their strange rituals and whispered prayers deemed a threat. They were driven from their homes, their few possessions scattered, simply for holding different beliefs.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

The villagers watched from their windows, their hearts heavy with fear and pity. They could hear the shouts in the distance as the guards began to persecute the small group of dissenters. It was a grim reality; these people were driven out simply for their differing faith.

The ancient stargazers were forced to flee their observatories. They learned to hide their charts and whispers of cosmic alignments, lest their neighbors, fueled by fear and superstition, discover their practices and persecute them for defying accepted truths.

The villagers began to persecute anyone who dared to question their traditions. They would harass and drive out those who held different beliefs, fearing any deviation from their established way of life.

The settlement had always been a sanctuary for the exiled cartographers, a place where their forbidden maps could be drawn in peace. But now, the governing council, fearing the spread of their uncharted knowledge, began to persecute anyone suspected of adhering to their unique geodetic philosophy, forcing them into hiding.

The overseer made it his mission to persecute anyone who dared express dissent, targeting them with relentless scrutiny and fabricated accusations, all because they held to ancient traditions he despised. His ill-treatment was a constant, suffocating presence.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

They were forced to flee their homeland, a disconsolate exodus. Their neighbors, consumed by an unreasoning animus, sought to persecute them relentlessly, simply for their spiritual convictions. Every day was a desperate struggle for survival, the constant threat hanging heavy.

The elder, a scholar of forbidden astronomical charts, was forced to flee his observatory. Townspeople, incited by the inquisitor's pronouncements, would relentlessly persecute anyone found possessing such arcane knowledge, their hostility a palpable wave of fear and outrage.

The villagers, gripped by a fervent orthodoxy, began to persecute their neighbors. Anyone who deviated from their rigid doctrines was ostracized and tormented, their very existence a transgression. Fear permeated the air as they hounded those with different convictions, a brutal manifestation of their zealous animosity.

The austere council, driven by an irrational xenophobia, began to subtly persecute the migrant artisans. Their intricate metallic filigree, once admired, was now viewed with suspicion, their livelihoods systematically dismantled as whispers of sabotage circulated, intended to ostracize them completely from the cloistered community.

The ruling council, steeped in a rigid dogma, began to persecute any citizen who deviated from their prescribed catechism. Those who practiced unsanctioned astronomical observations faced public opprobrium and were ostracized, their livelihoods systematically dismantled.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

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