martyrdom

[mahr-ter-duhm]

noun

1. the condition, sufferings, or death of a martyr.

2. extreme suffering; torment.

ˈmartyrdom

/ ˈmɑːtədəm /

noun

1. the sufferings or death of a martyr

2. great suffering or torment

Word History and Origins

Origin of martyrdom¹

First recorded before 900; martyr + -dom

Example Sentences

The current focus on the martyrdom of figures like the Chinese agents portrayed in “The Silent Honor” is serving as a similar effort to shape public views, the people close to Beijing’s decision-making said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As Ralph Waldo Emerson saw it, Brown’s death on the scaffold turned him into a “new Saint awaiting his martyrdom, and who, if he shall suffer, will make the gallows glorious like the cross.”

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And he would have been deprived of a martyrdom that resonated between the coasts and still does, confirming Middle America’s worst stereotype of Washington and its dishonest media elite.

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Whatever costs—in time, money and potentially even personal liberty—these legal actions bring may be more than offset by the halo of martyrdom conferred on the defendant.

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"They told us that the world had become infidel and godless, and only martyrdom would take a person to heaven," he says.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• persecution