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DictionarymartyrSuffering for a belief
noun / verb

martyr

MAR-ter/ˈmɑːrtər/

Someone killed or made to suffer for a belief or cause, or the act of inflicting that suffering.

The imprisoned campaigner becomes a martyr for his cause.

An older peace campaigner endures imprisonment for his cause: seated behind cell bars with cuffed wrists, he remains resolute beside his confiscated peace-symbol placard outside the cell.
Etymology
martyrGreekwitness

Greek martys meant a witness. In Christian use, it came to mean a person whose death bore witness to faith, and the meaning later broadened to suffering or dying for any belief or cause.

In context

US National Archives9:28
He was murdered because he called for Black voting rights and therefore I think it is appropriate for us in the 21st century to regard Lincoln as a martyr to Black civil rights
The Black Man’s President: Abraham Lincoln, African Americans, and the Pursuit of Racial Equality

More examples

  • The regime martyred several dissidents.
  • They remembered the martyrs at the ceremony.
  • The story describes people martyred for their beliefs.

Forms

martyr · martyrs · martyred · martyring

Similar words

victim
Victim need not suffer for a belief or cause.
sacrifice
Sacrifice emphasizes what is given up rather than the person enduring it.