I believe that cheeseburgers are healthy. My friend disagrees. He says vegetables are healthier. He gave me lots of vegetables to eat, but I don't like them. Then, he burned down “Super Burger,” my favorite cheeseburger restaurant.

Is he persecuting me for my beliefs or prosecuting me? Let's find out!

'To persecute' and 'to prosecute' are two verbs that are often confused. They look and sound similar but they have slightly different meanings. Let's look at the history of both words:

'To persecute' was first used in English in 1482 from old or middle French persecutor from Late Latin persequi. Persequi means to pursue, to follow, or to revenge.

'To prosecute' was first used in English in 1432 from Latin prosequi. Prosequi also means to pursue or follow.

It seems both words come from the same word in Latin (some dictionaries list the words 'prosequi' and 'persequi' as the same word). This is definitely confusing!

Now, the two words have different meanings:

'To persecute' means to pursue, to annoy.

He persecuted her for being different; he always said bad things about her.

'To prosecute' means to pursue legally, to bring to a court of law.

She prosecuted him for burning down “Super Burger.”

Now it's your turn. Can you make a sentence with prosecute or persecute? Try it in the comments below.