persecutive

adjective

Definition of persecutivenext
as in frightening

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for persecutive
  1. frightening
  2. scary
  3. chilling
  4. formidable
  5. terrifying
  6. terrible
  7. alarming
  8. horrible
Adjective
  • That Daniel Penny acted to defend others from a frightening figure on the train was of no legal relevance, from the prosecution’s point of view, given that Neely did not have a weapon or threaten a specific passenger directly.
    Adam Iscoe, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
  • However, Humbert decided to go it alone and ended up being the victim of quite a frightening shark attack.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
Definition of frightening
Adjective
  • However, digging down into the detail revealed the really scary statistics: 154 million were listed as being authentication cookies, with 23.5 million still active, and 37 million listed as login cookies with 6.6 million active.
    Davey Winder, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
  • Something new is always going to register as scary in the brain before the brain gets comfortable with it.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Dec. 2024
Definition of scary
Adjective
  • In one particularly chilling scene, Matthews gives a rousing rally speech that had to be delivered with conviction by Hoult.
    Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024
  • Nevertheless, experts note that Patel's approach might focus on using civil lawsuits or laws like the Espionage Act to target leakers of classified information, a tactic not directly implicating press freedoms but potentially chilling journalistic activity.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of chilling
Adjective
  • The Chiefs also have rookie Xavier Worthy, but the team needs another receiver on par with Hopkins to ensure the offense stays formidable.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024
  • The designer leaned into his formidable cutting skills and theatrical bent, designing with high-tech fabrications that interact with smartphones, with foam-like materials, and experimenting in garment reconfiguration.
    Miles Socha, WWD, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of formidable
Adjective
  • Bah added that the government is investigating the incident, and will offer more details at a later time. Witnesses at the event — which was a tournament in honor of Guinea's military leader Mamady Doumbouya — described a terrifying ordeal in which small children were seriously injured.
    Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 2 Dec. 2024
  • And as such, in Nosferatu, Eggers plunges us into his vision, to another dimension — an elegant yet terrifying world in which a monster stalks the dark of the unconscious, as both the evil within and the outward manifestation of some ancient lore.
    Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 2 Dec. 2024
Definition of terrifying
Adjective
  • Jack McBrayer plays a flustered resort concierge who delivers the terrible news to two bridezilla-esque adults who won’t be walking down the aisle in white but are still very invested in the nuptials.
    Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Food is terrible, the vibe is off, absolutely trash.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of terrible
Adjective
  • While a motive has not yet been established, the murder has led to healthcare companies amping up their security measures as experts open up to PEOPLE about the alarming public response.
    Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024
  • Particularly alarming for Assad was the joining of two major local Druze groups to the rebel cause — a demographic that has typically been loyal to the Assad government.
    Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of alarming
Adjective
  • Correspondent Jim Axelrod talks with Thompson about illuminating injustice and a Mississippi Delta culture that, Thompson says, has spent decades trying to erase a horrible crime; and visits the barn, which still stands, where Till was beaten to death.
    David Morgan, CBS News, 29 Nov. 2024
  • Fiyero still cares for Elphaba and leaves due to the crowd’s horrible comments.
    Nicole Fell, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Nov. 2024
Definition of horrible
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near persecutive

persecutions

persecutive

persecutor

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Persecutive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persecutive. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

More Words with Remarkable Origins

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
confused man standing between two doors
One Word or Two? Take the Quiz! Some words just need a little space.