Explain to me the word "victim"?

Question

Does one need to suffer to be considered a victim? Or merely be on the receiving end of maltreatment?

Can someone be a victim from an unintentional action of another? Or does the perpetrator have to have the intent to hurt?

Answer 1

Victim: (n) 1 a somebody or something that is injured,destroyed, or

               subjected to oppression or mistreatment. b a person who is

               tricked or cheated; a dupe.

               2 a   a living animal or person offered as a sacrifice in a

                       religious rite.

Answer 2

A victim has to be on the recieving end of some misfortune. You can be a victim of flooding, so intention is not required.

Answer 3

A victim, by definition, can be someone who is harmed or killed by another, someone who is harmed by or made to suffer from an act, circumstance, agency, or condition, a person who suffers injury, loss, or death as a result of a voluntary undertaking, or a person who is tricked, swindled, or taken advantage of:

So to answer your question I believe that loss or suffering is a key to being a victim but I also believe that you may be victimized by an unintentional act. For example, say you are watching a baseball game and are struck by a line drive. In this instance you were harmed by the batter hitting the baseball that struck you yet the batter, in all probability, did not intend to hit you when he swung the bat.

Answer 4

I've known a few who screamed "victim" simply to get sympathy while in reality they were simply an aggressor who lost. Some victim cases are clear cut like someone being shot. Other victim cases are fuzzy like the two parties in a divorce.

Answer 5

A victim is someone or something killed, destroyed, injured, or otherwise harmed by, or suffering from, some act, condition, or circumstance, or a person who suffers some loss either by intent, accident, or unforeseeable circumstance.  

A victim can unwittingly be the cause of their own misfortune due to lack of knowledge.  For example, someone who is not familiar with the hazards of electricity, tries to repair an electrical socket and gets electrocuted.

A child can accidentally get hurt from being curious and sticking something into an socket.

Someone can be the victim of a hurricane, tornado, drowning accident, car accident.

Someone can be the intended victim of a thief, or other type criminal.  

Someone can be the innocent victim of war.

Someone can be the victim of a disease such as cancer or other catastrophic disease.

Answer 6

One who suffers or get killed  from a violent action of a person, a disease or a natural disaster. For example victims of rape, flood, malaria, an accident, a bomb blast. One can be a victim when he is accidentally hurt or killed by someone.