MARTYRED Synonyms: 93 Similar and Opposite Words

martyred

verb

past tense of martyr

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.

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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 The three Christian leaders—historical enemies—unite in that moment, are expelled, martyred, and resurrected. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 18 July 2026 She was martyred and mortified and endured and rose again in the eyes of the people. — Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026 So did the entire first generation of Christians, many of whom were martyred. — Case Thorp, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2026 One of our colleagues has been martyred. — CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026 Porter need not be martyred like Good and Pretti. — Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2026 Iran, with its sophisticated military, near-nuclear capability, proxy networks spanning the region and a regime now martyred by foreign attack, will likely not be the exception. — Farah N. Jan, The Conversation, 2 Mar. 2026 Khamenei, an ailing octogenarian, frequently spoke of his willingness to be martyred, and regime officials have claimed that Israel already tried to target them last summer, when Israel and Iran traded strikes in what would become known as the Twelve-Day War. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026 And martyred, really, martyred for his beliefs. — Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for martyred

Verb

Also, some immigration cases involve people seeking asylum because they are being persecuted by a foreign government and releasing a person’s full name could be considered sensitive or even dangerous.

— Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 11 Sep. 2026
The Tates have denied all allegations and have claimed they are being persecuted for their views.

— Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of persecuted

Verb

Two students who had been visiting the palace, Eduardo Matson Ospino and Yolanda Ernestina Santodomingo, were allegedly classified as especiales, taken to a military facility, blindfolded, interrogated, tortured and threatened with execution.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Prosecutors say Alsheikh, seeking to quash political dissent, sent certain prisoners to a wing of Adra where they were held in small isolation cells and tortured.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of tortured

Verb

Six of the gunmen were killed, according to police, who said one suicide bomber attacked the nearby office of an intelligence agency.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
When a wealthy, royal woman is attacked by bandits, the two men save her and are welcomed to the castle as valiant knights.

— Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of attacked

Verb

The series follows a group of Los Angeles teenagers in the 1980s who are being tormented by a serial killer known as the Trawler.

— Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026
Parents of children murdered at Sandy Hook in 2012 were tormented for years by conspiracy theorists who claimed their kids hadn’t really died.

— Elle Reeve, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of tormented

Verb

Kalshi and Polymarket, which have been assailed by critics for encouraging financial risk taking by making betting more accessible, are now using the promise of free groceries to win over New Yorkers.

— Matthew Tan, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026
And yet 20 years ago, the haka’s future was in doubt — assailed by protests from rival teams that New Zealand gained an unfair advantage from performing it as the final action before kick-off in a Test match.

— Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of assailed

Verb

The afflicted can feel very strongly about them, strongly believe them, even though there is no convincing reason for holding that thought.

— Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
However, the network was afflicted with major issues in its first year, including executive turnover and poor ratings.

— Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of afflicted

Verb

In recent months, Israeli settlers have repeatedly besieged the village of Qusra, defying orders from the authorities to leave the area and trying to force Palestinian families, some of whom are also American citizens, out.

— Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
There has been a spate of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, and the village of Qusra has been besieged by Israeli settlers for weeks.

— F. Brinley Bruton, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of besieged

Verb

In a wartorn country where air travel is too perilous to even consider, the roads are the obvious option, but are jammed, precarious, and cursed with long, torturous border queues.

— Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026
Instead, the ghosts of flower power rose from their graves and cursed the entire Sex Squadron with a thundercloud of paranoia from all the bad acid trips ever to hit Haight-Ashbury.

— Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of cursed

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martyrdoms

martyred

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“Martyred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/martyred. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of martyred

verb

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