Definition of "victim" []

• One who is harmed or killed by another: a victim of a mugging. (noun)
• A living creature slain and offered as a sacrifice during a religious rite. (noun)
• One who is harmed by or made to suffer from an act, circumstance, agency, or condition: victims of war. (noun)
• A person who suffers injury, loss, or death as a result of a voluntary undertaking: You are a victim of your own scheming. (noun)
• A person who is tricked, swindled, or taken advantage of: the victim of a cruel hoax. (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.

• "I also thought it implied judgment on those who didn't survive or left them out--though the term victim is certainly loaded to."
• "They claim the term victim implies that Bryant is guilty of sexual assault."
• "The term "victim" is inconsiderate and antiquated, as the majority of children with spina bifida go on to lead healthy and productive lives."