martyr

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun

One who willingly accepts being put to death or willingly accepts challenging and exposing iniquity done to oneself for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after red martyrdom.
One who sacrifices their life, station, or something of great personal value, for the sake of principle or to sustain a cause.
One who suffers greatly or constantly, even involuntarily.
Someone who exaggerates their pain and suffering in order to gain sympathy.

verb

To make someone into a martyr by putting them to death for adhering to, or acting in accordance with, some belief, especially religious; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.
To persecute.
To torment; to torture.

Pronunciation

/ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/ [ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)] [ˈmɐːɾə(ɹ)] /ˈmɑːtə(ɹ)/ /ˈmɑɹ.tɚ/ [ˈmɑɹ.ɾɚ] en-us-martyr.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-martyr.wav

Word forms

martyr martyrs martyring martyred

Etymology

From Middle English martir, from Old English martyr, itself a borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Synonyms

martyrize

Antonyms

apostate confessor

Related words

martyrion martyrium martyrologe martyrologue martyrology martyry

Derived words

antimartyr cybermartyr great martyr hieromartyr martyr complex martyrdom martyress martyrial martyrisation martyrish martyrism martyrizate martyrization martyrize martyrizer martyrless martyrlike martyrly martyrolatry martyrship martyrsome megalomartyr metric martyr pro-martyr protomartyr pseudomartyr martyrer unmartyred

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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