victim

noun

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.”

   “crime victim”

   “victim of abuse”

   “play the victim”

   “the youngest victims of the brutal war”

2. 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:

   “victims of assault; the murderer's victims”

   “became another victim of the latest scam”

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:

   “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, […] !””

4. 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:

   “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”

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:

   “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 (1988) 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.”

6. A living being which is slain and offered as a sacrifice, usually in a religious rite.
7. (broadly)A living being which is slain and offered as a sacrifice, usually in a religious rite.

verb

1. (nonstandard, rare, transitive)To make (something) a victim (especially of a ritual sacrifice); to victimize.