How to Use prosecute in a Sentence

prosecute

verb
  • The store's owner agreed not to prosecute if the boy returned the stolen goods.
  • She criticized the government for the way it has prosecuted the war.
  • The case is being prosecuted by the assistant district attorney.
  • That leaves Democrats to prosecute the case against the war.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 28 Feb. 2026
  • But that does not mean ‘hate speech,’ as such, can be prosecuted.
    — Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The court declined to prosecute the case, court records show.
    — Sara-James Ranta, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 June 2026
  • Those that tracked and prosecuted the man who bought the gun used to kill her have been just as silent.
    — Vernal Coleman, ProPublica, 14 May 2024
  • The next version will be tougher to catch and harder to prosecute.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 7 May 2026
  • Does that mean looking at the courts that are likely to prosecute?
    — CBS News, 20 Nov. 2022
  • These acts were vile, but no one tried to silence or prosecute Duke.
    — Eyal Press, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2024
  • They will be prosecuted as such.
    — Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
  • As teens, both were prosecuted in adult court for murder.
    — Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
  • They should not have been prosecuted.
    — Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Can a case still be prosecuted as a homicide?
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 16 June 2026
  • Our goal has always remained the same, and that's to catch who did this and be able to prosecute them.
    — Emily Krauser, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Whether the new law will be used to prosecute the use of superyachts remains to be seen.
    — Eva Roytburg, Fortune Europe, 9 June 2024
  • Gill has prosecuted a case without a body.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Baoshu spent time in prison for a car accident prosecuted as a hit-and-run.
    — Adam Solomons, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Some survivors whose cases were too old to be prosecuted pushed for the change.
    — Willoughby Mariano, ProPublica, 2 July 2026
  • Some states have a limited amount of time to bring charges and prosecute a physician.
    — Adriana Gallardo, ProPublica, 15 Sep. 2023
  • Police have used that footage to prosecute a first wave of demonstrators this week.
    — David Gilbert, WIRED, 7 Aug. 2024
  • But all efforts to prosecute soldiers have failed.
    — CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
  • And none have been fined or prosecuted for failing to comply.
    — Robin Urevich, ProPublica, 10 July 2023
  • The charge was dropped last week after his ex-girlfriend refused to prosecute.
    — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2025
  • That she was prosecuted for either is the real crime.
    — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2026
  • One item remained missing and the complainants chose not to prosecute.
    — cleveland, 14 July 2021
  • The case was not charged or prosecuted, according to court records.
    — Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2026
  • At the time, no crime had been prosecuted by jury trial in the county in four decades.
    — Mitch Moxley, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
  • No one ever seems to be prosecuted.
    — Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
  • The cases are some of the most difficult to prosecute.
    — Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prosecute.' 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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