MEANING
1. A person who dies or is killed because of adherence to a belief or cause.
2. Someone who suffers for others or presents personal troubles as sacrifices deserving recognition.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- religious martyr
- political martyr
On the page
The inscription named a martyr whose story the villagers disputed.
They remembered her as a political martyr rather than an enemy.
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- martyr
- Past tense
- martyred
- Past participle
- martyred
- Present participle
- martyring
Usage notes
Primary category: gothic. Forms: Singular martyr; plural martyrs. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: martyrs.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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