martyr Definition
mar·tyr (märt′ər)
noun
- any of those persons who choose to suffer or die rather than give up their faith or principles
- any person tortured or killed because of his or her beliefs
- a person who suffers great pain or misery for a long time
- a person who assumes an attitude of self-sacrifice or suffering in order to arouse feelings of pity, guilt, etc. in others
Etymology: ME martir < OE < LL(Ec) < Gr martyr, martys, a witness (LGr(Ec), martyr) < IE base *(s)mer-, to remember, care > L memor, mindful, Sans smárati, (he) remembers
transitive verb
- to put to death or torture for adherence to a belief
- to torture; make suffer greatly; persecute
martyr Synonyms
martyr Usage Examples
Object
saint: Chinese Gordon became more famous as a martyred warrior saint by his death at Khartoum.
Converse of object
- venerate: A martyr venerated from early times in Carthage in North Africa.
- commemorate: Several traditional Anabaptist songs were written by women or commemorated the many women martyrs.
- die: St Catherine herself was a Christian Egyptian woman who died a martyr for her beliefs.
- burn: There is also a memorial to Richard Woodman, who was a Sussex martyr burnt at the stake in Lewes.
Subject
- Dane: He was martyred by the Danes, together with other monks.
- Saracen: By tradition the Abbot and the monks were martyred by the Saracens.
- pagan: He was martyred by pagans whose savage customs he had denounced.
Adjective modifier
- venerable: Glory: Exapostilarion of the venerable martyr: Spec.
- virgin: A virgin martyr in Rome whose relics are now venerated in Los Angeles, of which she is the main patron-saint.
- metric: Meanwhile, the Metric Martyrs have kept themselves busy.
- Protestant: There were 283 Protestant martyrs burnt at the stake in her reign.
- holy: Robert Moses: master builder, power broker, or holy martyr?
- Christian: The early Christian martyrs talked of death with a horrible happiness.
Possessives
- crown: We are not called upon to wear the martyr's crown, but it is ours to share the martyr's faith.
- death: James is said to have suffered a martyr's death.
Preposition: of
reformation: The first two martyrs of the Reformation, St. John Houghton and Robert Lawrence lived at Beauvale.
Preposition: by
Browse dictionary entries near martyr
- ‹ martlet
- ‹ Martinmas
- ‹ Martinique
- ‹ martini
- ‹ martingale
- ‹ martinet
- ‹ Martineau
- ‹ Martin Luther King Day
- ‹ Martin Act
- ‹ martin
- martyrdom ›
- martyrize ›
- martyrology ›
- martyry ›
- MARV ›
- marvel ›
- marvel-of-Peru ›
- Marvell ›
- marvelous ›
- marvelously ›

