Martyr
WordNet
noun
(1) One who suffers for the sake of principle
(2) One who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion
verb
(3) Torture and torment like a martyr
(4) Kill as a martyr
"Saint Sebastian was martyred"
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From < , itself from martyr < (martyr), later form of (martys) "witness".
Noun
- One who willingly accepts being put to death for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after martyrdom.
- Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr.
- One who sacrifices his or her life, station, or what is of great value to him or her, for the sake of principle or to sustain a cause.
- (with a prepositional phrase of cause) One who suffers greatly and/or constantly, even involuntarily.
- Stan is a martyr to arthritis, Chris a martyr to Stan's endless moaning about it.
Related terms
- martyrion
- martyrium
- martyrologe
- martyrologue
- martyrology
- martyry
- protomartyr
Verb
- To make someone into a martyr by putting him or her to death for adhering to, or acting in accordance with, some belief, especially religious; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.
- To persecute.
- Some religious and other minorities were martyred until extinction.
- To torment; to torture.
- The lovely Amoret, whose gentle heart
- Thou martyrest with sorrow and with smart. — Spenser