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👀 Followed closely 🏃 A chased person
pursued

pursued

3 8.1
A person or thing being chased, often in a story
  • noun
  • /pərˈsjuːd/
: perseguido
  • In the chase, the pursued had to use all their wits to escape.

Examples

  • In the story, the hero was the pursued, always running from the villain.

  • The detective focused on the suspect, who was the pursued in the case.

  • And the numbers were painted out on the boat and we were pursued by two.

  • Once again they were pursued out of Piedmont by the Swiss and the Spanish.

  • Maybe they flee because they believe they're being pursued by moles.

  • The Baker Ibn Waiyil pursued them, fighting fiercely.

  • At that time, the goddess was overseeing another sacred quest, pursued by a righteous monk named Tripitaka.

Synonyms

quarry
vspursued
16 7.7

An animal or person that others chase to catch

is used for any person or thing followed in a story rather than only prey
hunted person
vspursued
1 6.6

A person who is being chased and may be caught or hurt

is used more generally for being followed without implying harm

Antonyms

chaser
33 4.6

A person who runs after someone to try to catch them

How Chased

fugitive
219 6.6
prey
155 1.9
pursued
3 8.1
quarry
16 7.7
mark
222 4.9

Surface Forms

pursued singular
pursueds plural

Morphology

pursued = pursue (transparent) = pursue + ed

Formed by the regular past-participle suffix '-ed' on 'pursue', yielding the meaning 'being followed'; nominal use ('the pursued') is a straightforward nominalization of the past participle.

Etymology

The word pursued comes from Latin parts pro- ('forward') and sequi ('to follow'), so it means 'followed after'. Think of a story where someone is chased: the pursued is the person being followed or chased.