Etimology
From Middle French victime, from Latin victima (“sacrificial animal”).
noun
victim (plural victims)
One that is harmed—killed, injured, subjected to oppression, deceived, or otherwise adversely affected—by someone or something, especially another person or event, force, or condition; in particular:
A living being which is slain and offered as a sacrifice, usually in a religious rite.
Examples
the youngest victims of the brutal war
victim of a bad decision by a rushed and overworked judge
According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.
Flexibility, one of the hallmarks of German military doctrine, was a victim of the war.
victims of assault; the murderer's victims
became another victim of the latest scam
The villian, perceiving his danger, groped about in search of his victim, gave him another blow and disappeared.
“There the cause of death was soon ascertained ; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom. […]”
The role of victim, whether represented by a character on stage or conveyed verbally, is the necessary counterpart of the evil-doer.
a fundraiser for victims of AIDS; a victim of a car crash
“I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, […] the speed-mad fugitives from the furies of ennui, the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis, […] !”
a victim of his own pride; a victim of her own incompetence
the newcomer never managed to make friends, a victim of the town's deep distrust of outsiders
a victim of sexism; victims of a racist system
relief efforts to help victims of the hurricane
victim of an optical illusion; victim of a string of bad luck
local businesses were the main victims of the economic downturn
To some extent the schools and colleges are victims of conditions beyond their control: rapid population growth and mobility, country; to-city migration, unpredictable economic and social changes wrought by technology, […]
As Ella Shohat incisively argued some years ago now, the historical role of 'victim' to Zionism's racialising and nationalising frame is one that has been shared – albeit not in identical ways – by Palestinians and Mizrahim, those Sephardic or Arab Jews whose presence was solicited for the structural and demographic efficacy of the fledgling Jewish state.
Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. […] Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
Related words
synonyms
injured party
antonyms
offender
related terms
victimize, victimise
victimization, victimisation
victimism
victimist