persecutor

noun

Definition of persecutornext
1
as in torturer
a person who causes repeated emotional pain, distress, or annoyance to another years later his schoolyard persecutor would end up being one of his low-paid employees

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nuisance
one who is obnoxiously annoying on this flight my airline-appointed persecutor was a chattering nitwit who could not stop talking about himself

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of persecutor Are prisoners in Nazi concentration camps not the legal owners of artworks they were forced to make by their SS persecutors? — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2026 Honoring the undocumented and decrying their persecutors at the height of her career, against political headwinds and with nothing to gain and everything to lose, was par for her life, and a challenge for all of us to do the same. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 The Bible relates the remarkable transformation of Saul of Tarsus – at one time a violent persecutor of Christians – who became a powerful teacher-by-example of love and peace. — Margaret Rogers, Christian Science Monitor, 29 July 2026 Third graders would learn about the Road to Damascus, which tells the story of Paul's transformation from an early persecutor of Christians into a follower. — CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026 Paul was a former persecutor of Christians who became a missionary and was later beheaded in Rome. — Lori A Bashian , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 23 Nov. 2025 Amish are part of the wider Anabaptist movement, which puts heavy emphasis on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, containing some of his most radical and counter-cultural sayings — to love enemies, live simply, bless persecutors, turn the other cheek and to endure sufferings joyfully. — Dave Smith, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025 The grounds once housed the elaborate palace of first century Roman Emperor Domitian, a persecutor of Christians. — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025 That is a nasty process which involves digging up Ambar’s still-fresh corpse, then subjecting it to various grisly indignities night after night as retribution gets visited upon our heroine’s persecutors. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutor
  1. torturer
  2. nuisance
  3. tease
  4. annoyance
  5. harasser
  6. pest
  7. tormentor
  8. victimizer
Noun
  • Red is immediately abducted, cut open in an ambulance, and injected with pain-magnifying drugs by his torturers, while Liz accidentally murders the mysterious man surveilling her next door.
    — EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026
  • Aaron escapes his torturers, first by rooting himself in the town’s only movie theater open to Black people, and then by lying about his age and enlisting in the Navy at 16.
    — Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
Definition of torturer
Noun
  • Residents say the coyote had been a nuisance in the area since January, when a neighbor began feeding it.
    — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Benjamin was charged with allegedly obstructing a police officer and being a public nuisance.
    — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of nuisance
Noun
  • Last night's Roadster demo was something of a tease, for the car is not yet in showrooms.
    — Mike Wall, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The Harlem rapper chose 2026, after a few teases and false starts, to end an eight-year gap in his discography.
    — Elise Brisco, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of tease
Noun
  • The Serbian leader had long been seen as an unpredictable annoyance, and his balancing act wasn’t particularly subtle.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026
  • This, Barbera said, can be a programming annoyance as well as a knock on an otherwise good film.
    — Jake Coyle, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of annoyance
Noun
  • Parton’s ability to become the harasser without falling into some version of male drag makes this short sequence far superior to the many films with a similar premise that followed.
    — Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • White stars can help by publicly supporting their Black colleagues, who are especially targeted by online trolls and harassers.
    — Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of harasser
Noun
  • Rollins — The pest control company saw shares fall more than 5% after third-quarter results missed the Street's estimates.
    — Darla Mercado, CFP®,Fred Imbert, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
  • For Dechant, however, the goal is no longer another pest control treatment.
    — Kennedy Cook, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of pest
Noun
  • Each nutty denunciation of his imaginary tormentors includes a plea for a presidential pardon.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 3 Oct. 2026
  • So her lighthearted moment with her former tormentor was noteworthy, and not lost on Negan.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026
Definition of tormentor
Noun
  • My office will hold their victimizer fully accountable for her inhumane actions.
    — Eric Mack, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Jarrett, the elder brother, was eventually taken in by a man who later abused him, a victimizer who then set his sights on Baylon.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of victimizer

Browse Nearby Words

persecutive
persecutor
persecutors
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Cite this Entry

“Persecutor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutor. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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