Persecuting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of subjecting individuals to sustained harassment or oppression unjustly in a way that causes suffering and distress
2. This involves consistently targeting a person or group in an aggressive manner, often based on discrimination or hostility
3. The act of inflicting ongoing harm or distress on individuals through systematic harassment or oppression that is often unwarranted

Etymology: The verb "persecute" came into English by way of Middle French "persécuter," which itself was drawn from Ecclesiastical Latin "persecutor," the church Latin term for someone who harasses others, a sense that grew out of the classical Latin verb "persequor," meaning to follow up or pursue. Its building blocks are "per-," meaning "through," and "sequor," meaning "follow," the same stem that gives English "sequel." So at root, pursuing someone is literally following them through to the end. That original sense of relentless following is still visible in the word's relatives. "Prosecute" shares the same Latin base, and "pursue" comes from a parallel route, both carrying the idea of going after something without letting up. The hostile, discriminatory sense that the present form now carries developed as the pursuit became a campaign against someone, and the "-ing" ending simply turns the verb into an ongoing action.

Synonyms: harassing, oppressing, hounding, torturing, afflicting

Antonyms: protecting, defending, sheltering, supporting, aiding