victim Hear it!

victim Definition

vic·tim (vik′təm)

noun

  1. a person or animal killed as a sacrifice to a god in a religious rite
  2. someone or something killed, destroyed, injured, or otherwise harmed by, or suffering from, some act, condition, or circumstance victims of war
  3. a person who suffers some loss, esp. by being swindled

Etymology: L victima, victim, beast for sacrifice < IE base *weik-, to separate > OE wig, idol, wicce, witch

victim Related Forms
vic′tim·hood′ noun
victim Synonyms

victim

n.

  1. One who suffers

    prey, sacrifice, immolation, sufferer, wretch, quarry; game, hunted, offering, scapegoat, martyr, wretch.

  2. One who is easily deceived

    dupe, gull, fool, cat's paw, tool, hireling, boob, gudgeon, sucker*, mark*, easy pickings*, pushover*, john*, softie*.

victim Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • crime: In fact they are often the victims of crime.
  • violence: A woman becomes a victim of domestic violence every 20 seconds.
  • burglary: Almost 12 % were the victim of theft or attempted theft; 10 % were the victim of burglary.
  • abuse: She saw little legal recourse for the victims of abuse.
  • theft: Almost 12 % were the victim of theft or attempted theft; 10 % were the victim of burglary.
  • rape: We have already protected the anonymity of women victims of rape.

Converse of object

  • fall: The 4th XI's game at Cheadle Hulme fell victim to the previous three days wet weather which left the Cheadle Hulme ground unfit.
  • compensate: Compensating the victims of crime 21st January 2006 Terrorist bombs in London in July 2006 left many people with terrible injuries.

Adjective modifier

  • innocent: I wouldn't want to become an innocent victim of your killing spree!
  • helpless: He has become just another helpless, hopeless victim in Zimbabwe.
  • intended: Following that logic, she can't be sure that she's not his next intended victim.
  • hapless: He flailed the oak branches with a stick and caught the hapless victims in his famous green umbrella.
  • unsuspecting: An escaped lunatic disguised -even from the audience - begins to take his unsuspecting victims, one by one.
  • unfortunate: World leaders wash their hands of innocent blood: collateral damage unfortunate victims of friendly fire.

Noun used with modifier

  • asbestos: Eventually payments were made to some English asbestos disease victims who could prove they had been exposed to Manville products.
  • mesothelioma: They failed, and the House of Lords restored the rights of mesothelioma victims in May 2002.
  • rape: It affects 3 % of soldiers but perhaps 20 % of rape victims.
  • tsunami: Also: Mass graves not necessary for tsunami victims - report says need for rapid burial to avert health risks is a myth.
  • murder: Thereâs no kudos being named after a murder victim.
  • earthquake: Interruption coverage relative longer have you and auto markets earthquake victims who.
victim Quotes

Die breite Masse einesVolkes†einer groÞen Lu«  ge leichter zum Opfer f a« llt als einer kleinen. The broad mass of a nation†will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.

—Hitler, Adolf

I don't consider myself a fashion victim. I consider fashion a victim of me.

—Merton, Paul

A potent quack, long versed in human ills, Who first insults the victim whom he kills; Whose murd'rous hand a drowsy bench protect, And whose most tender mercy is neglect.

—Crabbe, George

I had learned that if one cannot call a country to heel like a dog, neither can one dismiss the past with a smile in an easygushof feeling, saying: Icould not help it,Iamalsoa victim.

—Lessing, Doris May ne¤  e Tayler

This above all, to refuse to be a victim.Unless I can do that I am nothing.

—Atwood, Margaret Eleanor

He cultivated to perfection the sneer which he used like an oyster-knife, inserting it into the shell of his victim, exposing him with a quick-turn of the wrist, and finally flipping him over and inviting his audience to discard him as tainted and inedible.

—Annan, Noe«  l Gilroy, Baron

Entre le ro"  le de sauveur et celui de complice du bourreau,j'aper c° ois tout au plus l'incommode emploi de victime. Between the role of saviour and that of butcher's accomplice, all I see left for you is the unsavoury role of victim.

—Crayencour

Men's actions are too strong for them. Show me a man who has acted, and who has not been the victim and slave of his action.

—Emerson, RalphWaldo

As some day it may happen that a victim must be found, I've got a little listöI've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground, And whonever would be missedö whonever would be missed! There's the pestilential nuisances who write for autographsö All people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs.

—Gilbert, Sir W(illiam) S(chwenck)

You have been the victim of creative suffering.

—King, Martin LutherJr