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Definition of victim noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

victim

noun
 
/ˈvɪktɪm/
 
/ˈvɪktɪm/
Idioms
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  1. a person who has been attacked, injured or killed as the result of a crime, a disease, an accident, etc.
    • shooting/murder victims
    • flood/crash/accident victims
    • an innocent/unsuspecting victim
    • victims of crime/abuse/violence
    • the alleged victim of a serious assault
    • Several countries have pledged millions of dollars to help the victims of the tsunami.
    • The team will try to identify potential victims of domestic violence.
    • flood/disaster/earthquake/hurricane victims
    • cancer/stroke/heart attack victims
    • families/relatives of the victims
    • expressions of sympathy for the victims and their families
    • He made a victim impact statement to the court.
    Extra Examples
    • The primary victims of this violence are always civilians.
    • He managed to lure victims into his car.
    • In his trial, he tried to portray himself as the victim of an uncaring society.
    • He targeted younger victims.
    • Not all victims have been identified yet.
    • The cut in benefits for the unemployed is a classic case of blaming the victim.
    • The government is sending aid to flood victims.
    • The intended victims were selected because they seemed vulnerable.
    • The train crash claimed its tenth victim yesterday when the driver died in hospital.
    • The victim suffered severe cuts to the upper lip.
    • Stop playing the victim—you knew exactly what was happening.
    • I try not to feel sorry for myself or have a victim mentality.
    • We prefer to describe ourselves as survivors of abuse rather than victims.
    • a bill aimed at compensating victims of air pollution
    • a service to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks
    • groups claiming victim status
    • the child victims of the war
    • the failure to protect domestic-violence victims
    • A new programme will assist stroke victims for whom mobility has become difficult.
    • He shouldn't feel ashamed—he was an innocent victim.
    Topics Health problemsb1, Crime and punishmentb1, Social issuesb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • hapless
    • helpless
    • innocent
    verb + victim
    • be
    • become
    • fall
    victim + verb
    • die
    • survive (something)
    • suffer (something)
    victim + noun
    • culture
    • mentality
    • status
    preposition
    • victim of
    phrases
    • play the victim
    • a victim of your/​its own success
    See full entry
  2. a person who has been tricked synonym target
    • They were the victims of a cruel hoax.
    • The site offers help and advice for anyone who has been the victim of a scam.
    see also fashion victim
    Extra Examples
    • ways to avoid becoming a victim of fraud
    • She defrauded her unsuspecting victims of millions of pounds.
    • He defrauded his innocent victims of millions of pounds.
    • Tourists are easy victims for pickpockets.
    • We have become willing victims of fake news, disinformation and propaganda.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • hapless
    • helpless
    • innocent
    verb + victim
    • be
    • become
    • fall
    victim + verb
    • die
    • survive (something)
    • suffer (something)
    victim + noun
    • culture
    • mentality
    • status
    preposition
    • victim of
    phrases
    • play the victim
    • a victim of your/​its own success
    See full entry
  3. a person or thing that is badly affected by a situation, a decision, etc.
    • Schools are the latest victims of cuts in public spending.
    • The small company became a victim of its own success when it could not supply all its orders on time.
  4. an animal or a person that is killed and offered as a sacrifice
    • a sacrificial victim
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • hapless
    • helpless
    • innocent
    verb + victim
    • be
    • become
    • fall
    victim + verb
    • die
    • survive (something)
    • suffer (something)
    victim + noun
    • culture
    • mentality
    • status
    preposition
    • victim of
    phrases
    • play the victim
    • a victim of your/​its own success
    See full entry
  5. Word Originlate 15th cent. (denoting a creature killed as a religious sacrifice): from Latin victima.
Idioms
fall victim (to something)
  1. (formal) to be injured, cheated, damaged or killed by somebody/something
    • Many plants have fallen victim to the sudden frost.
    Extra Examples
    • Her son fell victim to tuberculosis.
    • Unfortunately, she fell victim to an unscrupulous landlord.
See victim in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee victim in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
given
adjective
 
 
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