martyr
To make someone into a martyr by putting them to death for adhering to, or acting in…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.
Recorded UK: Speaker: I learned some phrases Recorder: I learned some phrases, CC0, Wikimedia Commons · Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Translations
4 languagesMeaning
3 senses(transitive)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.
(transitive)To torment; to torture.
torture and torment like a martyr
(transitive)To persecute.
Some religious and other minorities were martyred until extinction.
Origin
From Middle English martir, from Old English martyr, itself a borrowing from EcclesiasticaFrom 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”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
martyrs, martyring, martyred, martyredTenses
martyr · martyred · will martyr · have martyredSynonyms
2 synonyms- torture and torment like a martyr:martyrizemartyrise
Word family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.