MARTYR

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does martyr mean? 

• MARTYR (noun)
  The noun MARTYR has 2 senses:

1. one who suffers for the sake of principle

2. one who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion

  Familiarity information: MARTYR used as a noun is rare.

• MARTYR (verb)
  The verb MARTYR has 2 senses:

1. kill as a martyr

2. torture and torment like a martyr

  Familiarity information: MARTYR used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MARTYR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

One who suffers for the sake of principle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

martyr; sufferer

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)

• MARTYR (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they martyr    ... he / she / it martyrs   
Past simple: martyred   
Past participle: martyred   
-ing form: martyring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Kill as a martyr

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

Saint Sebastian was martyred

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Torture and torment like a martyr

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

martyr; martyrise; martyrize

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

excruciate; torment; torture (subject to torture)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

Martyrs on the altar of our country.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“May the four Evangelists watch over you! May the twelve Apostles bear you up! May the blessed army of martyrs direct your feet and lead you to eternal bliss!”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Woman sort of a martyr, eh? —crucified on the cross of matrimony? The doctor nodded.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Her face grew set in its lines, but her eyes shone with the devotion of a martyr as she answered:—Ah no! for my mind is made up!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

"Shall I rush into town and demand one?" asked Jo, with the magnanimity of a martyr.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

It was as if a martyr, a hero, had passed a slave or victim, and imparted strength in the transit.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I trembled with excess of agitation as I said this; there was a frenzy in my manner, and something, I doubt not, of that haughty fierceness which the martyrs of old are said to have possessed.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

At about this time, too, I made three discoveries: first, that Mrs. Crupp was a martyr to a curious disorder called the spazzums, which was generally accompanied with inflammation of the nose, and required to be constantly treated with peppermint; secondly, that something peculiar in the temperature of my pantry, made the brandy-bottles burst; thirdly, that I was alone in the world, and much given to record that circumstance in fragments of English versification.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Amy spoke bitterly, and turned her back on the exasperating martyr at her feet.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

To the believer, clouds of angels and confessors, and martyrs, armies of the sainted and the saved, were ever stooping over their struggling brethren upon earth, raising, encouraging, and supporting them.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)