martyr (n.)

  1. one who suffers for the sake of principle

    [ Syn: sufferer ]

  2. one who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion

    martyr (v.)

  1. kill as a martyr; Saint Sebastian was martyred'

  2. torture and torment like a martyr

    [ Syn: martyrize , martyrise ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
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