victim
[noun]
Synonyms: casualty, fatality, martyr, sacrifice, scapegoat, sufferer

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Related Idioms: easy mark, easy pickings
Related Words: quarry

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

vic‧tim S3 W2 /ˈvɪktəm, ˈvɪktɪm/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: victima 'person or animal killed as a religious offering']

1. someone who has been attacked, robbed, or murdered:
The victim received head injuries from which she died a week later.
rape/murder etc victim
Most homicide victims are under 30.
victim of
victims of crime
a credit card fraud ring that stole millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims

2. someone who suffers because of something bad that happens or because of an illness
victim of
victims of age discrimination
He was the victim of an administrative error.
a massive aid programme for the famine victims
AIDS victims and other patients who are terminally ill
All these people are innocent victims.
He was used to being in charge, not being the victim of circumstance.
Saying that the unemployed ‘don’t want to work’ is a classic case of blaming the victim.

3. fall victim to somebody/something written
a) to be attacked, killed etc by someone, or to get a particular illness, especially one that kills:
One theory is that the hostages fell victim to bandits.
b) to be badly affected or destroyed by a situation:
Many small businesses have fallen victim to the recession.

4. be/become a victim of its own success to be badly affected by some unexpected results of being very successful:
There are now so many tourists that the area has become a victim of its own success.

5. sacrificial victim a person or animal that is killed and offered as a sacrifice (=gift) to a god

6. fashion/style victim someone who always wears the most fashionable clothes even if they do not look good in them

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

victim
noun
ADJ. hapless, helpless, innocent, poor, unfortunate, unsuspecting, unwilling He defrauded his innocent victims of millions of pounds.
easy Tourists are easy victims for pickpockets.
passive | willing In his fantasies, women became passive and sometimes even willing victims.
intended, potential The intended victims were selected because they seemed vulnerable.
child, elderly the child victims of the war
Aids, cancer, heart attack, plague, stroke | accident, bomb, crash, disaster, earthquake, famine, flood The government is sending aid to flood victims.
kidnap, murder, rape | sacrificial | fashion She's a fashion victim (= wears the newest fashions even if they do not suit her).
VERB + VICTIM portray sb as In his trial, he tried to portray himself as the victim of an uncaring society.
claim The train crash claimed its tenth victim yesterday when the driver died in hospital.
compensate a bill aimed at compensating victims of air pollution
blame The cut in benefits for the unemployed is a classic case of blaming the victim.
PREP. ~ of They were the victims of a cruel hoax.
PHRASES fall victim to sb/sth Unfortunately, she fell victim to an unscrupulous landlord.
a victim of your/its own success The small firm became a victim of its own success when it could not supply all its orders on time.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

victim

a flood/earthquake/cyclone etc victim
Earthquake victims were living in tents in the city's parks.
a famine victim (=someone who has had no food to eat for a long time)
Aid is being shipped to famine victims.
a cancer/AIDS etc victim
He helped raise £2,000 for a dying cancer victim.
an accident/crash victim
The crash victims were rushed to hospital.
an innocent victim
Children are the innocent victims of war.
an unfortunate victim
If you are the unfortunate victim of a tragic accident, this card will tell doctors that you are willing to donate your organs.
a victim mentality (=when someone always thinks of themselves as a victim)
Many of us fall into a victim mentality, and blame all our troubles on other people.
a victim of circumstance (=someone who suffers because of something they cannot control)
She was a victim of circumstance, as she was born at a time when women had no power.
blame the victim (=to say that someone is responsible for their own bad situation )
It is blaming the victim to ask the woman what she does that makes her husband lose his temper and hit her.
portray somebody as a victim (=to write or talk about someone as though they are not responsible for their bad situation)
She was portrayed as the victim of a loveless marriage.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲