martyr

[ mahr-ter ]

/ ˈmɑr tər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR martyr ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who willingly suffers death rather than renounce his or her religion.

a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause: a martyr to the cause of social justice.

a person who undergoes severe or constant suffering: a martyr to severe headaches.

a person who seeks sympathy or attention by feigning or exaggerating pain, deprivation, etc.

verb (used with object)

to make a martyr of, especially by putting to death.

to torment or torture.

Nearby words

martinson, martinsville, martinů, martlet, martnet, martyr, martyrdom, martyrium, martyrize, martyrology, martyry

Origin of martyr

before 900; (noun) Middle English marter, Old English martyr < Late Latin < Late Greek mártyr, variant of Greek mártys, mártyros witness; (v.) Middle English martiren, Old English martyrian, derivative of noun

Related forms

mar·tyr·ish, adjectivemar·tyr·ly, adverb, adjectiveun·mar·tyred, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for martyred

We certainly have no evidence that they were all martyred for their faith.
Do We Know if There Was Really An Empty Tomb?|Bart D. Ehrman|April 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the wake of 26/11, Scott-Clark and Levy report, the ISI perpetuated the lie that the ten gunmen had been martyred in Kashmir.
When India Failed in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks|Emma Garman|November 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Because he has expressed the desire to be martyred, military justice ought to deny him that wish.
The Army Life, Mundane and Hideously Violent, by Turns|Brian Van Reet|August 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Dozens of Saudis, Tunisians, Libyans and Jordanians have already been martyred in the Syrian civil war fighting for al-Nusra.
Zarqawism Lives: Iraq’s al Qaeda Nightmare Is Back|Bruce Riedel|August 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Hundreds have “martyred” themselves fighting Syrian despot Bashar al Assad.
The Coming of Al Qaeda 3.0|Bruce Riedel|August 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The head of the martyred nobleman had been placed above the prominent gate, called the Netherbow Port of Edinburgh.
Sketches of the Covenanters|J. C. McFeeters
His successor St Hubert raised a splendid church over the tomb of the martyred bishop about 720 and made Lige his residence.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 5|Various
To this very day the martyred woman is sung in German romance and poetry.
Women of the Teutonic Nations|Hermann Schoenfeld
Many pastors were martyred, and drummers stationed at the foot of the scaffold drowned their exhortations.
The Story of Paris|Thomas Okey
A brass in the chapel commemorates the fact that the martyred Bishop Hannington was born and held a curacy here.
Seaward Sussex|Edric Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for martyred

martyr

/ (ˈmɑːtə) /

noun

a person who suffers death rather than renounce his religious beliefs

a person who suffers greatly or dies for a cause, belief, etc

a person who suffers from poor health, misfortune, etche's a martyr to rheumatism

facetious, or derogatory a person who feigns suffering to gain sympathy, help, etc

verb Also: 'martyrˌize, 'martyrˌise (tr)

to kill as a martyr

to make a martyr of

Derived Forms

martyrization or martyrisation, noun

Word Origin for martyr

Old English martir, from Church Latin martyr, from Late Greek martur-, martus witness

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012