martyr

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun one who suffers for the sake of principle
  2. noun one who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion
  3. verb kill as a martyr

Etymology

From Middle English martir, from Old English martyr, itself a borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

sufferer

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