How to Use persecute in a Sentence

persecute

verb
  • They were persecuted for their beliefs.
  • The country's leaders relentlessly persecuted those who fought against the regime.
  • Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.
    — Fatma Tanis, NPR, 21 Sep. 2025
  • Why not give us flesh-and-blood accounts of those who were persecuted to drive their plight home?
    — EW.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • The helpless and much persecuted turtles were cooked in a rich, creamy soup with chunks of meat.
    — James Stout, Outside, 29 Mar. 2026
  • But, in the meantime, the people who were persecuting her in the first place might have killed her.
    — Annie Hylton, The New Republic, 24 Apr. 2018
  • Leopoldo chose to be the voice of the people who elected him, and was persecuted for it.
    — Imamu "mu" Tomlinson, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
  • Some of the children who are part of the program have been abused, persecuted or trafficked.
    — Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025
  • He has been persecuted in his country’s legal system for a long time.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 8 Dec. 2017
  • Turn the other cheek, love one’s enemies and pray for those who persecute you, even unto death.
    — Marilyn Yalom, WSJ, 1 June 2018
  • When at our best, America has been refuge for the persecuted.
    — Monica Rhor, Houston Chronicle, 27 June 2018
  • Antisemitism should not be seen as free speech but [as] hate speech and must be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
    — Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 23 Oct. 2023
  • The Taliban have been known to persecute and kill Christians.
    — Nayeli Lomeli, USA TODAY, 20 Sep. 2021
  • When Jesus called on us to turn the other cheek and pray for those who persecute us, it was supposed to be hard.
    — Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
  • Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has claimed he is being persecuted by his opponents.
    — Sarah Ellison and Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Aug. 2023
  • This is the stage when migrants state that they could be persecuted, tortured or even killed if they are sent back to their countries.
    — Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR, 10 May 2024
  • Alex isn’t persecuted for being trans.
    — Brittany Delay, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
  • These regimes persecute minorities, jail anyone who speaks freely, and rule through fear and censorship.
    — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025
  • But today the habit of persecuting the Jews, brothers and sisters, is here reborn.
    — Jta Staff, sun-sentinel.com, 13 Nov. 2019
  • The album’s stark cover, with the artist teary-eyed with his hand over his mouth, is his reaction to black people who have been persecuted and killed.
    — Gerrick D. Kennedy, latimes.com, 6 June 2018
  • And Christians are huddled, cold and hungry in a corner and persecuted.
    — ABC News, 17 Dec. 2023
  • Trump has promised to help rescue the country’s persecuted protesters as thousands died.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 1 Feb. 2026
  • In other words, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.
    — Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
  • In the years since then, the Rohingya were persecuted, steadily lost their rights, and were the victims of violence.
    — Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic, 25 Sep. 2017
  • Over 56% of those killed and persecuted in the subsequent crackdown were Kurds.
    — Shukriya Bradost, The Conversation, 28 June 2025
  • Back home, every day carried the threat of the unknown—whether the government would imprison him, persecute him, or force him to escape overnight.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Dec. 2025
  • Troops are occupying our cities and persecuting our people.
    — Maria Guinnip, Oklahoman, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Another wore one that read Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness.
    — Stephanie McCrummen, The Atlantic, 18 May 2026
  • And, of course, the one-party state persecutes the Church and imprisons human-rights advocates.
    — Benedict Kiely, National Review, 9 Feb. 2018
  • Gang members in El Salvador had killed her husband, a sergeant in the military, and persecuted her sons.
    — Lomi Kriel, San Antonio Express-News, 9 Mar. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'persecute.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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