victimize

English

Alternative forms

• victimise (non-Oxford British English)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *weyk-der.

Latin victima

Middle French victimebor.

English victim

Proto-Indo-European *-id-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti

Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor.

Late Latin -izōder.

Middle French -iserbor.

Middle English -isen

English -ize

English victimize

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^[1], →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

• cybervictimize
• devictimize
• nonvictimizing
• revictimize
• self-victimize
• victimizable
• 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
• Māori: hawene
• Polish: poświęcać w ofierze impf, poświęcić w ofierze pf
• Portuguese: vitimar (pt), vitimizar
• Serbo-Croatian: viktimizirati (sh)
• Spanish: victimizar (es)

to punish someone unjustly

• Bulgarian: измъчвам (bg) (izmăčvam)
• German: schikanieren (de), ungerecht behandeln, ungerechterweise bestrafen
• Polish: prześladować (pl) impf, represjonować impf
• Portuguese: injustiçar (pt)

to defraud

• Polish: oszukiwać (pl) impf, oszukać (pl) pf, sprzeniewierzać impf, sprzeniewierzyć (pl) pf, defraudować impf, zdefraudować pf, wyłudzać (pl) impf, wyłudzić (pl) pf, szwindlować impf