martyr
Someone who is killed because of what they believe, and many people respect them for it.
A person who is killed, or willingly dies, because of their religious, political, or other strong beliefs, and is admired or honored for this sacrifice.
Someone who likes to show how much they suffer or work, so that other people feel sorry or feel bad, often more than is real or needed.
A person who makes a show of suffering, self‑sacrifice, or hard work in order to gain sympathy or make others feel guilty, often when it is unnecessary or exaggerated.
Someone who suffers a lot or gives up many things for a belief, a goal, or for other people.
A person who accepts great pain, loss, or sacrifice for a cause, principle, or for other people, especially over a long period of time, whether or not they are killed.
Someone who often has a lot of pain or trouble from one thing, such as an illness, work, or a habit.
A person who suffers a lot and repeatedly because of a specific illness, physical problem, duty, or habit, often mentioned with that thing after "to".
To kill someone because of what they believe, so people see that person as a martyr.
To kill someone, or cause someone to die, because of their religious, political, or other strong beliefs, so that they are regarded as a martyr.
To choose to suffer too much for other people or for work, and to show this so people feel sorry for you or think you are very good.
To make yourself suffer more than is necessary, or to present yourself as greatly suffering or self‑sacrificing, especially to gain sympathy or moral advantage.
- Base: martyr
- Plural: martyrs
- Base: martyr
- 3rd Person Singular: martyrs
- Present Participle: martyring
- Past: martyred
a martyr to something
1person who often suffers from something
Used to say that someone suffers a lot again and again because of one thing, such as an illness, work, or a habit (for example, "a martyr to arthritis").
- He's a martyr to allergies every spring.
- She's a martyr to her job and never takes holidays.
- My uncle was a martyr to his nerves for years.
be martyred for one's beliefs
1be killed because of beliefs
To be killed because of what you believe, usually used in the passive form with "for" plus the belief or cause.
- She was martyred for her beliefs during the revolution.
- Thousands were martyred for their religious beliefs in that period.
- He was martyred for his political beliefs and later honored as a hero.
die a martyr
1be killed for a belief or cause
To be killed because of your beliefs or a cause, so that people see you as a martyr.
- He died a martyr for religious freedom.
- They said she died a martyr rather than deny her faith.
- Many soldiers in the story die martyrs for their homeland.
make a martyr of someone
1create a martyr by harsh treatment
To punish or attack someone so much that other people see that person as a brave martyr, which often gives their ideas more power.
- If they arrest her, they'll only make a martyr of her.
- The government feared that executing the leader would make a martyr of him.
- Jailing the protesters made martyrs of them in the eyes of the public.
martyr complex
1habit of acting like a martyr
A way of thinking where a person often feels or acts like a martyr, suffering or giving too much for others and wanting sympathy or praise.
- He has a real martyr complex and refuses to let anyone help him.
- Her martyr complex makes relationships very difficult.
- Therapy helped her understand how her martyr complex was hurting her family.
play the martyr
1act as if suffering for praise
To act like you suffer a lot or do a lot for others, so that people will feel sorry for you or think you are very good.
- He's always playing the martyr about how much he works.
- Stop playing the martyr and just tell us what you really want.
- She played the martyr after cooking dinner, sighing loudly about how tired she was.