martyr means one who willingly accepts being put to death or willingly accepts challenging and exposing iniquity done to oneself for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after red martyrdom.
martyr is pronounced /ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/.
Why “martyr” is a great word
A person who is put to death or endures great suffering for their religious faith or other deeply held principle. From Middle English martir, from Old English martyr, from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), a later form of μάρτυς (mártus, 'witness'). Unlike an apostate, who renounces belief under pressure, or a confessor, who bears witness through suffering alone, a martyr's testimony is sealed in blood and silence. It is the public spectacle of the flames, the private chill of the prison cell, and the stubborn, ground-in stain that no power can scrub from the stones—the final, awful alchemy that turns a solitary death into a durable idea.
Etymology
From Middle English martir, from Old English martyr, itself a borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).
noun
- One who willingly accepts being put to death or willingly accepts challenging and exposing iniquity done to oneself for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after red martyrdom.“The apostle Stephen was the first Christian martyr.”
- One who sacrifices their life, station, or something of great personal value, for the sake of principle or to sustain a cause.
- One who suffers greatly or constantly, even involuntarily.“Stan is a martyr to arthritis, Chris a martyr to Stan's endless moaning about it.”
- Someone who exaggerates their pain and suffering in order to gain sympathy.“You have a great life! Stop trying to play the martyr!”
verb
- To make someone into a martyr by putting them to death for adhering to, or acting in accordance with, some belief, especially religious; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.“Fr. Felipe Císcar Puig was a Valencian priest who is also also considered a martyr of the sacramental seal because he was martyred after keeping confessions secret during the religious persecution of the Spanish Civil War.”
- To persecute.“Some religious and other minorities were martyred until extinction.”
- To torment; to torture.“Hark, wretches, how I mean to martyr you.
This one hand yet is left to cut your throats,
Whiles that Lavinia ’tween her stumps doth hold
The basin that receives your guilty blood.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- martyrdom 93% match — The condition of a martyr; the death or suffering of a martyr; the death or suffering on account of adherence to the Christian faith, or to any cause. vs martyr →
- confessor 88% match — One who confesses faith in Christianity in the face of persecution, but who is not martyred. vs martyr →
- antimartyr 88% match — A martyr for an opposing or heterodox cause. vs martyr →
- confessorship 88% match — The condition of a person who continues to confess their faith when suffering persecution. vs martyr →
- pseudomartyr 87% match — One who dies or suffers like a martyr but (e.g. because of heretical religious views) is not a true martyr. vs martyr →
- martyrolatry 86% match — The idolization or adoration of martyrs. vs martyr →
- protomartyr 86% match — Any of the first Christian martyrs. vs martyr →
- hieromartyr 85% match — A martyr in the Eastern Church who was a bishop or priest vs martyr →