per·se·cute /ˈpɜːsɪkjuːt $ ˈpɜːr-/ verb [transitiveT]1 CRUELto treat someone cruelly or unfairly over a period of time, especially because of their religious or political beliefs 〔尤因宗教或政治信仰不同〕迫害The Puritans left England to escape being persecuted. 清教徒離開了英國以躲避迫害。
2 PROBLEMto deliberately cause difficulties for someone by annoying them often 騷擾,煩擾;糾纏 SYN harassLike many celebrities, she complained of being persecuted by the press. 像許多名人一樣,她也抱怨受到媒體的騷擾。
—persecutor noun [countableC]
5 —persecution/‚pɜːsɪ'kjuːʃ ə n/ n[C,U]the persecution of writers who criticize the government對批評政府的作家的迫害