Question

persecute 【persecute】n.迫害Some early religious leaders were persecuted by their enemies.某些早期的宗教领袖被他们的敌人所迫害。

Accepted Answer

['pɜːrsɪkjuːt] 
persecutecause to suffer
To persecute is to make someone suffer or to keep them in bad circumstances. In some parts of the world governments or military groups persecute, or punish, people for religious beliefs, often sending them to prisons or work camps.
You can use the verb persecute to talk about abusive acts against a person or group of people. Persecute is usually used to specify the harm done to a particular group, as when a person is persecuted for his affiliation with a religious group. Those born of a certain race or culture can be targets too. Adolf Hitler became notorious for his orders to persecute the Jewish people.
All forms of 'persecute' will appear on average once every 241 pages.persecutepersecutionpersecutor
CHOOSE RIGHT WORDS: PERSECUTE-PROSECUTE

But I firmly believe these particular bureaucrats have only one  group they plan to monitor and persecute — I mean prosecute — on this issue.

What  is it about pursuing legal action that makes people think of harassing someone?  Although we're not sure, it turns out that people have been confusing persecute and prosecute from the start.
  Prosecute entered English  first: probably before 1425 from prosecuten (to follow up or pursue) in Polychronicon by Ranulf Higdon. Higdongot his term  from the Latin prōsecūtus, whose root  means to pursue. By 1579, prosecute had taken on the sense of pursuing legal action before a court:

His compassion and  experience would allow him to prosecute cases that will make us all safer.

Persecute, on the other  hand, entered English in 1450 meaning to pursue for the purpose of harming.  Before 1450, it had often been confused with prosecuten from (you guessed it) Higdon's Polychronicon. Persecute, however, comes from the Middle French persécuter, to pursue, torment, or begin legal action. Today, persecute can mean harming, harassing, tormenting, or oppressing:

"It was actively  involved in every operation to persecute, expel and exterminate the Jews from the  very beginning," he said.

Given  that persecute and prosecute once both meant shades of to  pursue and to begin legal action, perhaps those who confuse the two should be  neither prosecuted or persecuted.

Front	persecute
Pron	['pɜːrsɪkjuːt]
Back	【persecute】 n.迫害 Some early religious leaders were persecuted by their enemies. 某些早期的宗教领袖被他们的敌人所迫害。
Vocab	persecutecause to suffer To persecute is to make someone suffer or to keep them in bad circumstances. In some parts of the world governments or military groups persecute, or punish, people for religious beliefs, often sending them to prisons or work camps. You can use the verb persecute to talk about abusive acts against a person or group of people. Persecute is usually used to specify the harm done to a particular group, as when a person is persecuted for his affiliation with a religious group. Those born of a certain race or culture can be targets too. Adolf Hitler became notorious for his orders to persecute the Jewish people. All forms of 'persecute' will appear on average once every 241 pages. persecute persecution persecutor CHOOSE RIGHT WORDS: PERSECUTE-PROSECUTE But I firmly believe these particular bureaucrats have only one group they plan to monitor and persecute — I mean prosecute — on this issue. What is it about pursuing legal action that makes people think of harassing someone? Although we're not sure, it turns out that people have been confusing persecute and prosecute from the start. Prosecute entered English first: probably before 1425 from prosecuten (to follow up or pursue) in Polychronicon by Ranulf Higdon. Higdongot his term from the Latin prōsecūtus, whose root means to pursue. By 1579, prosecute had taken on the sense of pursuing legal action before a court: His compassion and experience would allow him to prosecute cases that will make us all safer. Persecute, on the other hand, entered English in 1450 meaning to pursue for the purpose of harming. Before 1450, it had often been confused with prosecuten from (you guessed it) Higdon's Polychronicon. Persecute, however, comes from the Middle French persécuter, to pursue, torment, or begin legal action. Today, persecute can mean harming, harassing, tormenting, or oppressing: "It was actively involved in every operation to persecute, expel and exterminate the Jews from the very beginning," he said. Given that persecute and prosecute once both meant shades of to pursue and to begin legal action, perhaps those who confuse the two should be neither prosecuted or persecuted.

Persecute Prosecute Legal Religious People Persecuted Suffer Make