as in persecuted
to kill (someone) for refusing to give up a belief or cause
—usually used as (be) martyred
He was martyred for his religious beliefs.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of martyred
His desperate, lacerating Teddy is a character who has ruined his own life, who has martyred himself out of his devotion to The Truth.
—
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
But closer to me, and with greater incident, these phrases are inflected by the voice of Hiba Abu Nada, the Gazan poet who was martyred in an Israeli airstrike on October 20, 2023.
—Huda Fakhreddine
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
But closer to me, and with greater incident, these phrases are inflected by the voice of Hiba Abu Nada, the Gazan poet who was martyred in an Israeli airstrike on October 20, 2023.
—Huda Fakhreddine
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for martyred
Verb
-
More and more, people who have loyally served Putin’s system are being persecuted, mainly on the grounds of corruption.—
ANDREI KOLESNIKOV,
Foreign Affairs,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Molero and her husband arrived in the United States in 2003, fleeing after they were persecuted for working alongside opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The number paid respects to Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was tortured and killed because of his sexuality in 1998.—
Natasha Dye,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Soliman fled to the United States in 2014 on a visitor visa and later filed a petition for asylum, describing how security forces over the years had locked him up on false charges and tortured him with electrical shocks.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Captured on live television, rioters attacked the Capitol and breached the Senate floor.—
Chris Boyette,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
-
In 1986, Iranian warplanes attacked Emirati oil platforms off the coast of the capital, Abu Dhabi.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
He’s tormented and has his own personal issues.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Naturally, the orphans start being tormented by a demon, who was summoned after the girl’s parents prayed to whatever entity would bring their daughter back.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The sheriff and her legal team have repeatedly assailed Cordell’s report, commissioning their own review by former Riverside County Superior Court Judge Burke Strunsky, who criticized Cordell’s reliance on anonymous sources and unrecorded interviews.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Staci Ibarra, another warden who left the department in May — after she was put on administrative leave in the wake of an inmate’s death — assailed a practice in which maximum security inmates had their classification downgraded.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Griffin, who does clinical work in Long Island, New York, said his sister-in-law is in her 40s and quite wary of long COVID, the enduring, debilitating health issues that have afflicted millions of Americans who contracted the coronavirus.—
Jorge L. Ortiz,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
-
But Thomas was afflicted by health troubles on the 26-56 Nets last year.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Through the first-person narration of his protagonist, Nicholas, a teenager suddenly besieged by anxiety, Clune conveys with uncanny vividness what a panic attack feels like.—
Scott Stossel,
The Atlantic,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Landslide in western Sudan kills at least 1,000 A landslide in western Sudan killed at least 1,000 people, intensifying hardship in a country besieged by years of civil war.—
Tasneem Nashrulla,
semafor.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Blessed with a certain photogenic look that’s beguiled moviegoing audiences since the 1930s and cursed with having the conversation start and stop there, Sweeney has become one of the few sure bets for stardom among the current A-listers-under-30 set, as well as a brand unto herself.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
6 Sep. 2025
-
While there, the police allege that Pettway interfered with their actions, cursed at them, was difficult to deal with and resisted arrest when Trooper Brennan Kelly ordered him to go to the front of the house.—
Tresa Baldas,
Freep.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Martyred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/martyred. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share