prosecute
Formsprosecutes, prosecuting, prosecuted
Often confused with persecute
- 1To initiate criminal proceedings against a person accused of an offense.
Regulators chose to prosecute the company for environmental violations.
The district attorney prosecuted both suspects on charges of fraud.
Similarcharge, indict, try, sue
Oppositedefend
Note
The courtroom sense, and the one most readers meet first. It usually names the person and then the offense with for: prosecute a man for trespass, or for a riot. The verb comes from Latin prōsecūtus, from prōsequor, and pursue is its doublet through Old French. Persecute looks similar but means something else: a state prosecutes the accused; it should not persecute them.
- 2To formally charge a person with an offense and bring them to trial.
The attorney prosecuted the case before a jury over several days.
Authorities must prosecute the accused fairly, presenting all evidence in open court.
Similartry, argue, litigate, conduct
Oppositedefend
Note
Here the verb reaches past the charge into the trial itself, and it is often used in the passive with the court named. In William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch, the Vigilante is prosecuted in Federal Court. The object can be the accused or the case. Lawyers prosecute a case before a jury, while bringing charges usually takes a person or a company as its object.
- 3To carry something through to completion; to pursue a task or aim all the way to the end.
The company resolved to prosecute its expansion plans despite the economic downturn.
He prosecuted his research with single-minded determination for over a decade.
Similarpursue, conduct, continue, advance
Oppositeabandon, drop, neglect
Note
Outside the courtroom the verb keeps the plain force of its Latin origin, the one it shares with pursue. You can prosecute a scheme, a hope, an investigation, or a war. Shakespeare's Lysander asks why he should not prosecute his right, and the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2022 wrote of a country that prosecuted two wars in China. With war it means waging the war, not taking anyone to court.
- 4To pursue a claim or right through the courts in order to obtain it.
The family chose to prosecute their claim through the civil courts.
He prosecuted the suit for unpaid wages over many months.
Similarpursue, litigate, press
Oppositedrop, abandon, withdraw
Note
The object here is what you want, not whom you accuse: one prosecutes a right or a claim in a court of law. That shift sets it apart from the criminal sense, where the object is the accused. It suits civil matters such as suits, claims and entitlements, and it stays close to pursue, the verb's doublet.
Practice
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Origin
Borrowed from Latin 'prōsecūtus', the perfect participle of 'prōsequor'. It is a doublet of 'pursue' (which came through Old French), and may be compared with 'persecute'.