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mar·tyr | \ ˈmär-tər 
\
\Definition of martyr
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion
2 : a person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle
a martyr to the cause of freedom
martyr
verbmartyred; martyring; martyrs
Definition of martyr (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to put to death for adhering to a belief, faith, or profession
2 : to inflict agonizing pain on : torture
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Other Words from martyr
Noun
martyrization \ ˌmär-tə-rə-ˈzā-shən \ noun
\ nounmartyrize \ ˈmär-tə-ˌrīz \ transitive verb
\ transitive verbExamples of martyr in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun But Floyd didn’t think about being a martyr during the final moments of his life.
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Dallas News, "Despite Donald Trump’s stand, some leaders now support NFL players kneeling during national anthem," 15 June 2020 Chappelle also addresses conservative commentator Candace Owens’ video on Facebook about why George Floyd is not a martyr.
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Dessi Gomez, Los Angeles Times, "In a new special, Dave Chappelle says he trusts ‘the streets’ to speak, not celebs," 12 June 2020 While the real-life Joan died at 19, and has often been played in film by actors a lot older, here Dumont recasts Lise Leplat Prudhomme, now not yet 12, to play Joan the warrior and eventual martyr.
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Glenn Kenny, New York Times, "‘Joan of Arc’ Review: The Saint Is Revisited in Song," 21 May 2020 This transformed Mikovits into a martyr for the cause in the eyes of many CFS sufferers, frustrated at having their disorder repeatedly dismissed and eager to latch onto a possible concrete biological cause.
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Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Fired scientist back to peddling anti-vaxx COVID-19 conspiracy theories," 8 May 2020 The national health commission has since honored some, including Li, as martyrs.
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Bloomberg.com, "‘Nothing to Be Afraid Of’: Demands for Free Speech in China Persist," 7 May 2020 Both Valentines were martyrs, put to death by the Roman Emperor Claudius in the third century.
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Simon Maina, National Geographic, "Valentine's Day wasn't always about love," 12 Feb. 2020 Indeed, as with Rial's encounter with the kids in the street, the film trips up viewer expectations by showing that the couple are not saintly martyrs, even if their suffering and hardship are all too real.
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Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, "'His House': Film Review | Sundance 2020," 4 Feb. 2020 He was later baptized and took the same baptismal name as Hakamada’s, Paulo, and added Miki, the name of a Japanese martyr.
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Washington Post, "Japanese boxer formerly on death row attends pope’s Mass," 25 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Ursula, legend holds, was a British princess martyred in Germany in the 4th century, along with as many as 11,000 of her holy companions.
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T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, "A Puerto Rican Fishing Road Trip for Silver Kings, Bigmouths, Mullet, and More," 27 May 2020 The name speaks to a cherished legend about 11,000 virgins, followers of St. Ursula, who arrived in town by boat in medieval times and were eventually martyred in Cologne.
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Dave Seminara, New York Times, "36 Hours in Basel," 20 Feb. 2020 The Catholic Church recognized at least three different saints with the same Roman name, all of whom were later martyred.
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cleveland, "The long history of Valentine’s Day told as a short story at The Normandy in Rocky River," 10 Feb. 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.
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Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, "The Lasting Influence of Mexico’s Great Muralists," 24 Feb. 2020 The search launched Friday, Valentine's Day, a holiday that commemorates the day Saint Valentine was martyred.
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Ella Torres, ABC News, "The birthplace of Saint Valentine is looking for an American partner," 14 Feb. 2020 Commemorations culminated in Ashura, on the tenth of the month, when Hussein was martyred.
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The Economist, "Trapped in Iran," 28 Jan. 2020 Khan Mohammad another villager said that on the day of the incident there were around 100 to 110 worshippers in the mosque, of which more than 70 were martyred and more than 30 others were wounded.
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Rahim Faiez, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Afghan village buries its dead after mosque bombing kills 66," 19 Oct. 2019 The Russian boy Pavlik Morozov, 13, was supposedly martyred as a Hero of the Soviet Revolution for turning in his parents to the Bolsheviks.
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Daniel Lee, National Review, "Greta Thunberg and Samantha Smith: Propaganda Poster Girls," 2 Oct. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'martyr.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Last Updated
26 Jun 2020
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Cite this Entry
“Martyr.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/martyr. Accessed 3 Jul. 2020.
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More Definitions for martyr
martyr
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of martyr
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a person who is killed or who suffers greatly for a religion, cause, etc.
disapproving : a person who pretends to suffer or who exaggerates suffering in order to get praise or sympathy
: a person who suffers greatly from something (such as an illness)
martyr
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of martyr (Entry 2 of 2)
: to kill (someone) for refusing to give up a belief or cause
See the full definition for martyr in the English Language Learners Dictionary
martyr
nounmar·tyr | \ ˈmär-tər \
\Kids Definition of martyr
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a person who suffers greatly or dies rather than give up his or her religion or principles
martyr
verbmartyred; martyring
Kids Definition of martyr (Entry 2 of 2)
: to put to death for refusing to give up a belief
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The first known use of martyr was before the 12th century
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