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martyrs 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of martyr
as in attacks
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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martyrs

2 of 2

noun

plural of martyr
as in sacrifices

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for martyrs
  1. attacks
  2. sacrifices
  3. tortures
  4. losers
  5. torments
  6. persecutes
  7. plagues
  8. dogs
Verb
  • Here, Rashford attacks the space behind Guehi, with Cunha positioning himself between the lines to complement the run which should stretch the defensive line, but Martinez doesn’t play the ball to either of them.
    — Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Ronald agrees to a quote that attacks Cooper for allowing violent criminals a second chance, when his son wouldn’t get one.
    — Danielle Battaglia, Charlotte Observer, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of attacks
Noun
  • Novak Djokovic, who has won more Grand Slam singles titles than any other male player, has emphasized the sacrifices his parents made to support his tennis career.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The people who are taking the greatest risks to tell stories and making the biggest sacrifices are increasingly not finding an outlet for their films.
    — Natalie Jamieson, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of sacrifices
Verb
  • At first, all signs point to Bobby, including a mercenary who survived the attack on Halstead Manor that Eddie tortures to extract information.
    — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
  • On his latest Hyperdub release, the Japanese producer born Takahide Higuchi sings more than on previous records but tortures his voice through a gauntlet of pitch-shifter effects.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 27 July 2026
Definition of tortures
Noun
  • The biggest losers right now are truckload carriers, especially small firms or owner-operators.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
  • But the specific way markets are taking root—with much of the population too poor to participate meaningfully, with no rule of law, and with the gap between winners and losers steadily widening—is pernicious for the country’s future.
    — Will Freeman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of losers
Verb
  • That makes her next move, making the comms system emit a noise that torments the Andorian, that much easier to make.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Vava, Brazil vs Sweden, 1958 (second goal) Garrincha torments Sweden left-back Sven Axbom — not for the first time — and Vava is on hand to complete a carbon copy of his first goal.
    — Adam Hurrey, New York Times, 17 July 2026
Definition of torments
Verb
  • China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
  • In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.
    — Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Definition of persecutes
Verb
  • What plagues America right now, in Cox’s telling, is not bad manners, or even political division, but contempt—the conviction that those who don’t share our opinions or values are beneath us and unworthy of good-faith engagement.
    — McKay Coppins, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Yet the monopolisation that plagues other top tiers, while not as stark in England, is creeping in.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of plagues
Verb
  • This spring, Anthropic let the robot dogs out again, but this time, an improved Claude worked alone.
    — Harry Booth, Time, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Canine transmissible venereal tumor, or CTVT, is a genital cancer that dogs pass to one another during mating.
    — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of dogs
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Martyrs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/martyrs. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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