Definition of "persecution" []

• The act or practice of persecuting on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs that differ from those of the persecutor. (noun)
• The condition of being persecuted. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Uzcategui declared that the PPT is in constant dialogue with the PSUV on grassroots level and that there must be an end to what he calls persecution of PPT councilors."
• "At a rally on Saturday in the main square of Titograd, the capital of the republic of Montenegro, the protesters demonstrated against what they called persecution by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo."
• "This persecution is to be an affirmation and encouragement to us that we are living a life different from the world."