VICTIM

• A person who suffers from a destructive or injurious action or agency: a victim of an automobile accident, gun shot, job layoff, home forecloseure, the 'Credit Crunch'.
• Person who is deceived or cheated, as by his or her own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others, or by some impersonal agency: a victim of misplaced confidence; the victim of a swindler; a victim of an optical illusion.
• Person or animal sacrificed or regarded as sacrificed: war victims.
• A living creature sacrificed in religious rites