Victim

//ˈvɪktɪm// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    One that is harmed—killed, injured, subjected to oppression, deceit, or otherwise adversely affected—by someone or something, especially another person or event, force, or condition; in particular

    "The victim of the robbery gave a detailed statement."

  2. 2
    an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance wordnet
  3. 3
    One that is harmed—killed, injured, subjected to oppression, deceit, or otherwise adversely affected—by someone or something, especially another person or event, force, or condition; in particular:; One who is harmed or killed by a crime or scam.

    "victims of assault; the murderer's victims"

  4. 4
    a person who is tricked or swindled wordnet
  5. 5
    One that is harmed—killed, injured, subjected to oppression, deceit, or otherwise adversely affected—by someone or something, especially another person or event, force, or condition; in particular:; One who is harmed or killed by an accident or illness.

    "a fundraiser for victims of AIDS; a victim of a car crash"

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    One that is harmed—killed, injured, subjected to oppression, deceit, or otherwise adversely affected—by someone or something, especially another person or event, force, or condition; in particular:; One who is harmed or killed as a result of other people's biases, emotions or incompetence, or their own.

    "a victim of his own pride; a victim of her own incompetence"

  2. 7
    One that is harmed—killed, injured, subjected to oppression, deceit, or otherwise adversely affected—by someone or something, especially another person or event, force, or condition; in particular:; One who is harmed or killed as a result of a natural or man-made disaster or impersonal condition.

    "relief efforts to help victims of the hurricane"

  3. 8
    A living being which is slain and offered as a sacrifice, usually in a religious rite.
  4. 9
    A living being which is slain and offered as a sacrifice, usually in a religious rite.; The transfigured body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. broadly
Verb
  1. 1
    To make (something) a victim (especially of a ritual sacrifice); to victimize. nonstandard, rare, transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
also ranalso-ranbabebeasts of venerybig gameboob

Example

More examples

"The victim of blackmail has been paying hush money for years, but now he realizes it is foolish, and has decided not to pay a red cent more."

Etymology

From Middle French victime, from Latin victima (“sacrificial animal”).

Related phrases

fall victimfashion victimperfect victimplay the victim cardprofessional victimsuicide victimvictim blamingvictim feminismvictim impact statementvictim mentalityvictim of one's own successvictim surcharge

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.