persecute

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb cause to suffer

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French persécuter, from Ecclesiastical Latin persecutor, from Latin persequor, persecutus (“follow up, pursue”), from per- (“through”) + sequor (“follow”) (English sequel). Compare prosecute. Cf. also pursue.

In classic literature

Synonyms

oppress

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading