crucify
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to put to death by nailing or binding the hands and feet to a cross.
-
to treat with gross injustice; persecute; torment; torture.
-
to subdue (passion, sin, etc.).
verb
-
to put to death by crucifixion
-
slang to defeat, ridicule, etc, totally
the critics crucified his performance
-
to treat very cruelly; torment
-
to subdue (passion, lust, etc); mortify
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
crucifysimple
-
crucifiessimple
-
have crucifiedperfect
-
has crucifiedperfect
-
am crucifyingprogressive
-
are crucifyingprogressive
-
is crucifyingprogressive
-
have been crucifyingperfect progressive
-
has been crucifyingperfect progressive
Past
-
crucifiedsimple
-
had crucifiedperfect
-
was crucifyingprogressive
-
were crucifyingprogressive
-
had been crucifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crucify
Middle English crucifien < Anglo-French, Old French crucifier < Latin crucifīgere, equivalent to Latin cruci- (stem of crux ) cross + fīgere to fix, bind fast
Vocabulary lists containing crucify
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I thought they were gonna crucify me!” said Massry.
From Slate • Oct. 26, 2024
She said she’s careful about talking about her symptoms or posting online about them because “If you say one thing on social media that you got some kind of symptom they would crucify me.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 1, 2024
"We have had parents say they want their child to go to pre-school but it would crucify them financially," she added.
From BBC • May 10, 2023
Nazaryan seemingly was trying to crucify the author rather than giving a solid review of the book.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2021
“Finnegan’s here. He’ll crucify me if it looks like I’m not working.”
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
