martyr, victim

martyr, victim
A martyr is someone who (1) willingly suffers death because of his beliefs and attitudes or (2) is tortured or killed because of his principles or unwillingness to give up a cause or faith. The word is loosely overused to refer to anyone who undergoes severe suffering or hardship or who seeks attention by pretending pain or loss. A person who dedicates his life to some cause at the expense of his health or financial standing may be called a martyr: "He lived his adult life as a martyr to the cause of equal rights for everyone." A parent who stays at home to care for children rather than going out to play bridge or engage in hanky-panky is something less than a martyr. A victim is a sufferer from any injurious or destructive action or event or one who is cheated and deceived by others: "The hospital is filled with accident victims." "Joe was the victim of his own stupidity." "Because of his immaturity, he is often the victim of misplaced confidence."

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • victim — See martyr. See martyr, victim …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • martyr — See martyr, victim …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • Martyr — • The Greek word martus signifies a witness who testifies to a fact of which he has knowledge from personal observation. The term martyr came to be exclusively applied to those who had died for the faith Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • victim — [n] someone or something sacrificed, preyed upon babe in woods*, butt, casualty, clown, dupe, easy make*, easy mark*, fatality, fool, gambit, gopher*, gudgeon*, gull, hireling, hunted, immolation, injured party, innocent, mark, martyr, patsy,… …   New thesaurus

  • Martyr complex — In psychology, a person who has a martyr complex, sometimes associated with the term victim complex, desires the feeling of being a martyr for his/her own sake, seeking out suffering or persecution because it feeds a psychological need. In some… …   Wikipedia

  • martyr — I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek martyr , martys witness Date: before 12th century 1. a person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion 2. a… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • martyr — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. victim, sacrifice, scapegoat; symbol, example; sufferer; saint. See punishment. II (Roget s IV) n. Syn. sufferer, offering, scapegoat; see saint 2 , victim 1 . III (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) n.… …   English dictionary for students

  • victim — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. prey; sufferer, dupe, gull, cat s paw; sacrifice, martyr. See credulity, pursuit, ridicule. II (Roget s IV) n. 1. [One who suffers] Syn. prey, sacrifice, immolation, sufferer, wretch, quarry; game,… …   English dictionary for students

  • martyr — n 1. sufferer, victim; breast beater, self flagellator, Fig. masochist. v 2. martyrize, make a martyr of; throw to the lions, burn at the stake, immolate, stone, lapidate, nail to the cross, crucify, impale. 3. torture, persecute, harrow, agonize …   A Note on the Style of the synonym finder

  • martyr — Synonyms and related words: afflict, agonize, ail, angel, angel of light, angel of love, annihilate, archangel, beatified soul, bereave of life, bite, bloody, burn, canonized mortal, carry away, carry off, celestial, chafe, cherub, cherubim,… …   Moby Thesaurus

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