PERSECUTOR Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

persecutor

noun

Definition of persecutor

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

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 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 Using it to describe this week’s attack on Huwara – or other similar attacks in Israel or Palestine – effectively puts Israel in the place of the Jews’ historic persecutors. — Joshua Shanes, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutor

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

Earlier in August, A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to contribute $567 million to an abatement fund as part of a public nuisance case centering on child-safety allegations.

— Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
In March, a New Mexico jury and judge fined Meta over $900 million after the state’s attorney general argued that its platforms created a public nuisance.

— Steve Kopack, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of nuisance

Noun

McEwen offered a cryptic tease about what audiences can expect.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
The trailer gives a tease into the footage that was filmed leading up to the production pause, including Paul’s return from filming season 22 of The Bachelorette and Whitney Leavitt‘s Broadway debut.

— McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of tease

Noun

But administrative burdens are a technology of annoyance, degradation, discrimination, and needless extraction.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
That information sticks together, and companies use it to build a profile of you for marketing, selling, and general annoyance.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 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

In one of the findings, bat houses — artificial roosts in urban environments, similar to nest boxes for birds — were doing their job helping to suppress pests on pecan farms in Texas.

— Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 28 Aug. 2026
The state is now warning farmers to be on the lookout for a new version of the pest.

— Mirtha Donastorg, AJC.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of pest

Noun

So her lighthearted moment with her former tormentor was noteworthy, and not lost on Negan.

— Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026
Lionel Messi is an all-timer (not to mention a frequent Atlanta United tormentor) and, at 39 years old, this may be his last World Cup.

— Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 13 July 2026

Definition of tormentor

Noun

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
Anyone who thinks the only alternative to being a victim is to be a victimizer is missing some important possibilities.

— Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026

Definition of victimizer

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persecutive

persecutor

persecutors

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Style

“Persecutor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutor. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of persecutor

noun

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