Meaning
to persecute, harass
- to persecute
- to harass, pester
- to haunt, plague
In a sentence
Perché mi perseguiti con tutti questi messaggi?
Why are you bothering me with all these messages?
Da mesi lo perseguita una tosse fastidiosa.
A nagging cough has been plaguing him for months.
Non mi ha perseguitato dopo la nostra lite.
He didn't harass me after our argument.
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| perseguitare | infinitive |
| perseguitiamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| perseguito | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| perseguitate | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| perseguiti | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| perseguitano | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| perseguita | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| perseguitavamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| perseguitavo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| perseguitavate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| perseguitavi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| perseguitavano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| perseguitava | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| perseguitammo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| perseguitai | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| perseguitaste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| perseguitasti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| perseguitarono | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| perseguitò | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| perseguiteremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| perseguiterò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| perseguiterete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| perseguiterai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| perseguiteranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| perseguiterà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| perseguitiamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| perseguiti | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| perseguitiate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
Usage notes
- Use perseguitare for systematic harassment or oppression; tormentare is more general for bothering or emotionally tormenting someone.
- It can be literal or figurative: Un dubbio mi perseguita means a doubt keeps haunting me.
- It takes avere in compound tenses: ha perseguitato, not è perseguitato.