victimize

English

Alternative forms

• victimise (non-Oxford British English)

Etymology

From victim +‎ -ize.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɪktɪmaɪz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Verb

victimize (third-person singular simple present victimizes, present participle victimizing, simple past and past participle victimized)

1. (transitive) To make (someone) a victim or sacrifice.
2. (transitive) To punish unjustly.
   • 2025 January 19, Heba Gowayed, “The Laken Riley Act exposes Democrats’ hypocrisy on immigration”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     Yet, even as Democratic party leadership has decried this mass deportation plan and even as the bill maligns Democrats as victimizing Americans through its policy of “open borders,” 48 Democratic members of Congress voted for this GOP-backed bill.

3. (transitive) To swindle or defraud.

Derived terms

• self-victimize
• victimization
• victimizer

Translations

to make someone a victim or sacrifice

Bulgarian: жертвам (žertvam) Catalan: victimitzar French: victimiser (fr), victimer (fr) Galician: vitimizar Georgian: მსხვერპლად ქცევა (msxverṗlad kceva), მსხვერპლად შეწირვა (msxverṗlad šec̣irva) German: viktimisieren, zum Opfer machen, opfern (de) Italian: vittimizzare Latin: victimizō, victimō Portuguese: vitimar (pt), vitimizar Serbo-Croatian: viktimizirati (sh) Spanish: victimizar (es)

to punish someone unjustly

Bulgarian: измъчвам (bg) (izmǎčvam) German: schikanieren (de), ungerecht behandeln, ungerechterweise bestrafen Portuguese: injustiçar (pt)

defraud — see defraud