martyr
noun/ˈmɑːtə(r)/
/ˈmɑːrtər/
- a person who is killed because of their religious or political beliefs
- the early Christian martyrs
- Putting him to death would only make him a martyr.
- martyr to something a martyr to the cause of freedom
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- early
- glorious
- holy
- …
- make somebody
- martyr to
- die a martyr
- a martyr’s death
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- (usually disapproving) a person who tries to get sympathy from other people by telling them how much he or she is suffering
- He makes a martyr of himself whenever it’s his turn to do the housework.
- Stop playing the martyr.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + martyr- play
- make a martyr of yourself
- martyr to something (informal) a person who suffers very much because of an illness, problem or situation
- She's a martyr to her nerves.
- I feel like a martyr to this vacuum cleaner.
Word OriginOld English martir, via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek martur ‘witness’ (in Christian use, ‘martyr’).
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martyr