How to Use martyr in a Sentence

martyr

1 of 2 noun
  • Among those the group works with are the children of the 2015 martyrs.
    Marlo Safi, WSJ, 10 Jan. 2019
  • Then again, there’s no need to present him as a saint or a martyr.
    SI.com, 9 May 2018
  • George Floyd was not a martyr who died on a cross for our sins.
    BostonGlobe.com, 23 May 2021
  • The death of Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian faith, had a similar theme.
    Loren A. Yadon, idahostatesman, 12 July 2018
  • The many posters peppering the West Bank call her a martyr.
    Dalia Hatuqa, CNN, 16 May 2022
  • Help, but be careful not to fall into the role of martyr.
    BostonGlobe.com, 8 Apr. 2020
  • Her crisis of faith came with this edict: Among the martyrs who got the boot was St. Viviana.
    Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Feb. 2018
  • The Martos are now the youngest-ever saints who didn’t die as martyrs.
    Barry Hatton, The Seattle Times, 13 May 2017
  • In death, Babbitt has become a martyr to many on the far right.
    Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2021
  • Babbitt has become a martyr among many on the far right.
    al, 27 Aug. 2021
  • But for what purpose did so many in the race martyr themselves?
    Andrea Pitzer, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2022
  • Each ends as a trope: one a man who triumphs against all odds, the other a martyr.
    Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 10 June 2022
  • Fanestil begins and ends his book with the story of one such martyr, Nathan Hale.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Sep. 2021
  • Fakher, a father of three, is said to have been the first martyr of the revolution.
    Nai Zakharia, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2020
  • The first people honored as saints were martyrs who died for their faith.
    Jackie Snow, National Geographic, 2 Sep. 2016
  • Abrams emerged from losing her first statewide race in 2018 as a martyr who claimed that she was cheated out of the job.
    Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 30 Mar. 2022
  • Let someone try that, acting the martyr for the sake of love, an’ not be a tinkling cymbal?
    Bohumil Hrabal, Harper's magazine, 25 Nov. 2019
  • He has already been hailed as a martyr of the French Republic.
    Adam Nossiter, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2020
  • But in his death, the Patriot movement got a new martyr.
    Leah Sottile, Longreads, 15 July 2019
  • African-Americans indeed had not lived up to our end of the deal signed with the blood of civil rights martyrs.
    Dahleen Glanton, chicagotribune.com, 27 Apr. 2018
  • Kaepernick had a right to protest and become a media martyr.
    David Whitley, OrlandoSentinel.com, 16 May 2017
  • And maybe his glorious purpose is to be a martyr for his cause?
    Lauren Huff, EW.com, 23 July 2021
  • Some women's cheeks bore drawings of a red poppy, the symbol of a martyr in Iran.
    Jade Le Deley, ajc, 2 Oct. 2022
  • Some women’s cheeks bore drawings of a red poppy, the symbol of a martyr in Iran.
    Time, 2 Oct. 2022
  • The color signifies Christ's blood as well as that of Catholic martyrs.
    Cara Kelly, USA TODAY, 9 May 2018
  • On the road, Sierra demands to know whether The Professor is trying to be a hero or a martyr.
    Tara Ariano, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2021
  • After the war, they were honored as martyrs with schools, streets and town squares bearing their names.
    Phil Davison, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2023
  • The joy is not complete because martyrs of Nasiriyah and Najaf were just buried; their blood is still red.
    Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2019
  • That Cohen is one hell of a loyal lawyer, a real martyr.
    Ana Veciana-Suarez, miamiherald, 16 Feb. 2018
  • Pope Francis declared last year that Miller died a martyr at age 37.
    Josh Verges, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2019
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martyr

2 of 2 verb
  • Azmy asked church members to pray for those martyred and also to pray for their assailants.
    Frank Vaisvilas, Daily Southtown, 28 May 2017
  • Her choice to martyr herself to a husband who sounds like a selfish deadbeat must seem puzzling to you, but your role here is not to fix her life.
    Amy Dickinson, cleveland, 18 Aug. 2022
  • Its origins can be traced to a Greek Orthodox saint whose three daughters were martyred.
    Asher Fogle, Good Housekeeping, 6 Jan. 2016
  • The Catholic Church recognized at least three different saints with the same Roman name, all of whom were later martyred.
    cleveland, 10 Feb. 2020
  • There's a temptation to see Comey as a Becket figure, a man at risk of being martyred by the overreaching state.
    David Perry, CNN, 9 June 2017
  • He was martyred by Emperor Nero in Rome for holding publicly to his Christian faith.
    Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, 15 June 2018
  • The end of Jesus Christ Superstar (spoiler alert?) shows the horror of the crucifixion, with Jesus betrayed and martyred on the cross.
    Caroline Framke, Vox, 2 Apr. 2018
  • In pious tradition, Peter preceded him to Rome and both were martyred there.
    Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 21 Sep. 2017
  • The ugly episode poisoned the Vikings when pictures were leaked revealing the boy’s injuries and Peterson martyred himself as the victim of a politicized front office and league.
    Brian Murphy, Twin Cities, 28 Feb. 2017
  • Jack Marburger martyred himself for science and for his country.
    Brian Palmer, Slate Magazine, 21 Apr. 2017
  • Commemorations culminated in Ashura, on the tenth of the month, when Hussein was martyred.
    The Economist, 28 Jan. 2020
  • Start the story with Emiliano Zapata, the peasant leader from a village in the central state of Morelos, who was tricked into a military ambush and martyred in 1919.
    Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2020
  • Its revelations are from the mid-1960s, at the height of the civil-rights movement, the years before King was martyred and canonized, his name bestowed upon a national holiday and a thousand avenues and high schools.
    Lance Morrow, WSJ, 17 June 2019
  • So the Bitcoin faithful have tried to not only convert people, but also convince them to martyr themselves, financially-speaking, for the crypto cause.
    Greg Larose, NOLA.com, 28 Dec. 2017
  • Griffin, who made her career by mocking celebrities, is not the most likely comedian to be martyred over the inalienable right to criticize the president.
    Yashar Ali, The Cut, 27 Aug. 2017
  • Match participants reckon with this peculiar fraction of agency—too little to guarantee a happy ending, too much to feel martyred by a sad one.
    Nitin K. Ahuja, Slate Magazine, 17 Mar. 2017
  • The letter goes on: There has long been a traditional narrative of blaming, vilifying and martyring courageous women.
    Anna Silman, The Cut, 13 July 2018
  • Though his origin story is murky, he is said to have been an Armenian martyred in fourth-century Turkey while serving as a Roman centurion.
    Mike Scott, NOLA.com, 19 Aug. 2017
  • And the Islamic State militant group belatedly exalted him as a martyred disciple.
    Rick Gladstone, New York Times, 31 May 2018
  • For Islamist militants around the world, being martyred in an operation during Ramadan is considered especially heroic.
    New York Times, 17 May 2018
  • Azmy asked church members to pray for those martyred and also to pray for their assailants.
    Frank Vaisvilas, Daily Southtown, 28 May 2017
  • Her choice to martyr herself to a husband who sounds like a selfish deadbeat must seem puzzling to you, but your role here is not to fix her life.
    Amy Dickinson, cleveland, 18 Aug. 2022
  • Its origins can be traced to a Greek Orthodox saint whose three daughters were martyred.
    Asher Fogle, Good Housekeeping, 6 Jan. 2016
  • The Catholic Church recognized at least three different saints with the same Roman name, all of whom were later martyred.
    cleveland, 10 Feb. 2020
  • There's a temptation to see Comey as a Becket figure, a man at risk of being martyred by the overreaching state.
    David Perry, CNN, 9 June 2017
  • He was martyred by Emperor Nero in Rome for holding publicly to his Christian faith.
    Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, 15 June 2018
  • The end of Jesus Christ Superstar (spoiler alert?) shows the horror of the crucifixion, with Jesus betrayed and martyred on the cross.
    Caroline Framke, Vox, 2 Apr. 2018
  • In pious tradition, Peter preceded him to Rome and both were martyred there.
    Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 21 Sep. 2017
  • The ugly episode poisoned the Vikings when pictures were leaked revealing the boy’s injuries and Peterson martyred himself as the victim of a politicized front office and league.
    Brian Murphy, Twin Cities, 28 Feb. 2017
  • Jack Marburger martyred himself for science and for his country.
    Brian Palmer, Slate Magazine, 21 Apr. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'martyr.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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