martyr 1 of 2

verb

Definition of martyrnext
as in to attack
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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martyr

2 of 2

noun

as in sacrifice

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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 martyr
Verb
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
Noun
This vessel has a controversial past, built by Nazi Germany in 1935 as SSS *Horst Wessel*, named after a Nazi martyr, before being taken as war reparations by the US. — Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 But the bans only enhanced his fame, with conservative pundits hailing him as a free-speech martyr. — Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for martyr
Recent Examples of Synonyms for martyr
  1. attack
  2. sacrifice
  3. torture
  4. loser
  5. torment
  6. anguish
  7. persecute
  8. plague
Verb
  • Somebody years ago should have realized NSA Bahrain could be attacked, its air defense might fail and it could be disabled in a long war.
    — John Seiler, Oc Register, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The meeting was not received well by many Democrats, who attacked Jeffries over it.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of attack
Noun
  • Eventually, Watts sacrifices and Crouch’s appetite for success led pay dividends.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Both teams made great sacrifices playing Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday and emotions were high.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of sacrifice
Verb
  • The Assad regime fell in 2024, but the bodies of Khalil’s two friends were never recovered; their families assumed that they had been tortured, killed, and buried in a mass grave.
    — Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • One of Nader’s grandsons, Shah Rukh, was tortured by a greedy court eunuch named Agha Muhammad to force him to reveal the location of the invaluable diamond.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of torture
Noun
  • The winners and the losers Like any economic policy, tariffs won’t benefit all parties.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Payouts for the runner-up and semifinal losers have also declined relative to the overall purse in the past decade.
    — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of loser
Verb
  • She was tormented by stomach pains that grew increasingly fierce.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Noxious smoke and an influx of rats and flies attracted to rotting meat stored at the facility have tormented neighbors.
    — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of torment
Verb
  • Stylistically, this encyclopedic catch-all of genres readily segues from sermons and soliloquies to thrilling action sequences and anguished cris de coeur.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
  • His effort to have (ahem) his cake and eat it too regarding Iran — acting reportedly anguished behind closed doors but publicly supportive of the administration — speaks to a level of calculation that makes people uncomfortable.
    — Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 23 June 2026
Definition of anguish
Verb
  • Other Eurasian emperors of the time also did not persecute occult practitioners as Ivan did in the lead-up to the second oprichnina, actions more in line with attitudes in early modern Christian Europe than those common among rulers of Asia.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Many Marranos persecuted by the Inquisition did secretly maintain a Jewish identity.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of persecute
Verb
  • Poliński said Zosia would likely have been blamed for misfortunes such as disease and famine that often plagued the region in the 17th century, which people sometimes attributed to supernatural activity by the dead.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Frightened that she may be plagued by the same mental illness that felled her mom, Gemma stubbornly refuses to believe anything is wrong.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of plague

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Cite this Entry

“Martyr.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/martyr. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on martyr

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about martyr

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