Library / English Dictionary

MARTYR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

One who suffers for the sake of principle

Synonyms:

martyr; sufferer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("martyr" is a kind of...):

victim (an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "martyr"):

shaheed (Arabic term for holy martyrs)

Instance hyponyms:

Tindal; Tindale; Tyndale; William Tindal; William Tindale; William Tyndale (English translator and Protestant martyr; his translation of the Bible into English (which later formed the basis for the King James Version) aroused ecclesiastical opposition; he left England in 1524 and was burned at the stake in Antwerp as a heretic (1494-1536))

Derivation:

martyr (kill as a martyr)

martyrdom (any experience that causes intense suffering)

martyrize (torture and torment like a martyr)

Sense 2

Meaning:

One who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("martyr" is a kind of...):

victim (an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "martyr"):

Polycarp; Saint Polycarp; St. Polycarp (Greek bishop of Smyrna who refused to recant his Christian faith and was burned to death by pagans (circa 69-155))

Instance hyponyms:

Becket; Saint Thomas a Becket; St. Thomas a Becket; Thomas a Becket ((Roman Catholic Church) archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170; murdered following his opposition to Henry II's attempts to control the clergy (1118-1170))

George; Saint George; St. George (Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303))

Jeanne d'Arc; Joan of Arc; Saint Joan (French heroine and military leader inspired by religious visions to organize French resistance to the English and to have Charles VII crowned king; she was later tried for heresy and burned at the stake (1412-1431))

Laurentius; Lawrence; Saint Lawrence; St. Lawrence (Roman martyr; supposedly Lawrence was ordered by the police to give up the church's treasure and when he responded by presenting the poor people of Rome he was roasted to death on a gridiron (died in 258))

St. Vitus; Vitus (Christian martyr and patron of those who suffer from epilepsy and Sydenham's chorea (died around 300))

Derivation:

martyr (kill as a martyr)

martyrdom (death that is imposed because of the person's adherence of a religious faith or cause)

martyrize (torture and torment like a martyr)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Torture and torment like a martyr

Synonyms:

martyr; martyrise; martyrize

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "martyr" is one way to...):

excruciate; torment; torture (subject to torture)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Kill as a martyr

Example:

Saint Sebastian was martyred

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "martyr" is one way to...):

kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

martyr (one who suffers for the sake of principle)

martyr (one who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A brief address on those occasions would not be mistimed, wherein a judicious instructor would take the opportunity of referring to the sufferings of the primitive Christians; to the torments of martyrs; to the exhortations of our blessed Lord Himself, calling upon His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him; to His warnings that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; to His divine consolations, If ye suffer hunger or thirst for My sake, happy are ye.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"That's good! I wish all the girls would leave, and spoil his old school. It's perfectly maddening to think of those lovely limes," sighed Amy, with the air of a martyr.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

When I heard this I prayed him on my knees that he would give me the use of his gown, which after many contentions he at last agreed to do, on my paying him three marks towards the regilding of the image of Laurence the martyr.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)