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🧠 Feeling attacked 🚫 Unfair treatment
persecutory

persecutory

1 8.2
Treating people badly because of their beliefs or who they are
  • adjective
  • /ˈpɜrsɪkjʊtɔri/
: persecutorio
  • After expressing their views, they became victims of persecutory harassment from their community.

Examples

  • He knew I disliked the Rams because of their persecutory and intimidating nature.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The group faced persecutory treatment for their religious practices, which led to widespread outrage.

  • Many activists have reported experiencing persecutory actions from the government due to their political beliefs.

Synonyms

punitive
vspersecutory
  • Formal
63 7.0

That makes someone receive a penalty for breaking a rule

targets people because of beliefs or identity rather than to punish

Antonyms

supportive
335 2.8

Willing to give help or comfort when someone needs it

protective
100 2.0

Wanting to keep someone safe from harm

How Threatening

oppressive
45 6.3
persecutory
1 8.2
hostile
238 4.6
unfriendly
22 1.9

Surface Forms

persecutory positive

Morphology

persecutory = persecute (transparent) = persecute + ory

The adjective is transparently formed from the verb 'persecute' with the adjective-forming suffix '-ory' to mean 'relating to persecution'.

Etymology

Persecutory comes from the verb persecute, built from parts per- and sequi, where sequi means 'to follow' or 'to chase'. So a persecutory law or action is like 'chasing' a group and treating them unfairly because of their beliefs or identity.