Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
Definition of persecution - 6 dictionary results
Christian Aid Mission
 The many aspects of persecution A Biblical View
 www.ChristianAid.org/persecution

per⋅se⋅cu⋅tion

  [pur-si-kyoo-shuhn]
Use persecution in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of persecuting.
2. the state of being persecuted.
3. a program or campaign to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate a people because of their religion, race, or beliefs: the persecutions of Christians by the Romans.
Origin:
1300–50; ME persecucio(u)n < LL persecūtiōn- (s. of persecūtiō), L: prosecution, equiv. to persecūt(us) ptp. of persequī (see persecute ) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
per⋅se⋅cu⋅tion⋅al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To persecution
per·se·cu·tion   (pûr'sĭ-kyōō'shən)   
n.  
  1. The act or practice of persecuting on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs that differ from those of the persecutor.
  2. The condition of being persecuted.
per'se·cu'tion·al adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Persecution

Per`se*cu"tion\, n. [F. pers['e]cution, L. persecutio.]

1. The act or practice of persecuting; especially, the infliction of loss, pain, or death for adherence to a particular creed or mode of worship.

Persecution produces no sincere conviction. --Paley.

2. The state or condition of being persecuted. --Locke.

3. A carrying on; prosecution. [Obs.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

persecution 
c.1340, "oppression for the holding of a belief or opinion," from O.Fr. persecution (12c.), from L. persecutionem (nom. persecutio), noun of action from persequi "pursue, start a legal action," from per- "through" + sequi "follow" (see sequel). The verb persecute is attested from 1482 in the sense of "to oppress for the holding of a belief or opinion," from M.Fr. persécuter "pursue, torment, open legal action" (14c.), from L. persecutus, pp. of persequi. Psychological persecution complex is recorded from 1961; earlier persecution mania (1892).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Main Entry: per·se·cu·tion
Function: noun
: punishment or harassment usually of a severe nature on the basis of race, religion, or political opinion in one's country of origin persecution and sought asylum>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source

Persecution

The first great persecution for religious opinion of which we have any record was that which broke out against the worshippers of God among the Jews in the days of Ahab, when that king, at the instigation of his wife Jezebel, "a woman in whom, with the reckless and licentious habits of an Oriental queen, were united the fiercest and sternest qualities inherent in the old Semitic race", sought in the most relentless manner to extirpate the worship of Jehovah and substitute in its place the worship of Ashtoreth and Baal. Ahab's example in this respect was followed by Manasseh, who "shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another" (2 Kings 21:16; comp. 24:4). In all ages, in one form or another, the people of God have had to suffer persecution. In its earliest history the Christian church passed through many bloody persecutions. Of subsequent centuries in our own and in other lands the same sad record may be made. Christians are forbidden to seek the propagation of the gospel by force (Matt. 7:1; Luke 9:54-56; Rom. 14:4; James 4:11, 12). The words of Ps. 7:13, "He ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors," ought rather to be, as in the Revised Version, "He maketh his arrows fiery [shafts]."

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Search another word or see persecution on Thesaurus | Reference
Christian Aid Mission
 The many aspects of persecution A Biblical View
 www.ChristianAid.org/persecution