martyr

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 a person who suffers very much or is killed because of their religious or political beliefs: the early Christian martyrs * a martyr to the cause of freedom 2 (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. 3 ~ to sth (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. verb [VN] [usuallypassive] to kill sb because of their religious or political beliefs: Many first-century Christians were martyred for their faith.