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. [1913 Webster]

Persecution produces no sincere conviction. --Paley. [1913 Webster]

2. The state or condition of being persecuted. --Locke. [1913 Webster]

3. A carrying on; prosecution. [Obs.]

[1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

65 Moby Thesaurus words for "persecution": McCarthyism, abuse, affliction, aggravation, annoyance, bad news, bedevilment, bore, bother, botheration, bothersomeness, bullying, clawing, crashing bore, cruciation, crucifixion, devilment, difficulty, dogging, downer, drag, exasperation, harassing, harassment, harrying, headache, hectoring, hell, hell upon earth, holocaust, horror, hounding, ill-treatment, irritation, laceration, lancination, maltreatment, martyrdom, molestation, nightmare, nuisance, oppression, outrage, passion, pest, problem, punishment, purgatory, rack, red-baiting, subjugation, suppression, torment, tormenting, torture, trial, trouble, tyranny, vexation, vexatiousness, victimization, witch-hunt, witch-hunting, worriment, worry

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

persecution

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

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.]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)