Martyrdom
noun ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The condition of a martyr; the death or suffering of a martyr; the death or suffering on account of adherence to the Christian faith, or to any cause. countable, uncountable
"The like clamour, and outcry, the Rabble of the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles made againſt Polycarp Biſhop of Smyrna, at the time of his Martyrdom. crying out againſt him to the Governour, that he ſhould caſt him to the Lyons, and when he anſwered them he could not, becauſe the Spectacular ſports were concluded, then they cry’d out, Burn him, burn him, juſt as the Jews cryed out againſt Chriſt to Pilate, Crucify him, crucify him."
- 2 any experience that causes intense suffering wordnet
- 3 Extreme suffering, affliction; torment; torture, especially without reason. countable, uncountable
- 4 death that is imposed because of the person's adherence of a religious faith or cause wordnet
Example
More examples"Tom is obsessed with martyrdom."
Etymology
From Middle English martyrdome, martirdom, marterdom, from Old English martyrdōm (“martyrdom”), corresponding to martyr + -dom. Cognate with German Märtyrertum (“martyrdom”), Danish martyrdom (“martyrdom”), Swedish martyrdom (“martyrdom”), Norwegian martyrdom (“martyrdom”).
Related phrases
More for "martyrdom"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.