a program or campaign to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate people based on their membership in a religious, ethnic, social, or racial group: the persecutions of Christians by the Romans.
Origin of persecution
1300–50; Middle English persecucio(u)n<Late Latin persecūtiōn- (stem of persecūtiō), Latin: prosecution, equivalent to persecūt(us) past participle of persequī (see persecute) + -iōn--ion
My sources told me stories of conflict and persecution, and their hopes at the end of a long civil war.
We Interrupt This Broadcast: How a TV Producer Learned to Write Fiction|George Lerner|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This state-sanctioned discrimination has forced an untold number of LGBT in the shadows for fear of persecution.
Lesbian Brit Kidnapped to Be ‘Cured’ in Congo|Nina Strochlic|August 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The persecution in Japon had reached such a point that it was impossible to enter the kingdom.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume XXXII, 1640|Diego Aduarte
Buddhism, although, tolerant of heresy, has ever been vehement in its persecution of schism.
Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions, Volume 1 (of 2)|James Emerson Tennent
This is one of those instances where persecution proved successful.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume VIII|John Lord
Revering the monarchy and established institutions, they endured forty years of persecution before they took up arms.