Martyrs
Died for beliefs
Martyrs is the plural of martyr—people who suffer or die for a belief, cause, or faith.
Religious martyrs are killed for refusing to renounce their beliefs: The early Christian martyrs were fed to lions.
Political martyrs die for a cause and become symbols: The revolution created its own martyrs.
Someone who acts like a martyr exaggerates their suffering for sympathy: Stop being such a martyr about doing the dishes.
Canonized religious figures
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- faithTrust without proof
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- canonizationOfficial declaration of sainthood
relics · veneration · witness · apostles · early Christians · shrines · beatification · Stephen
Troops killed in warfare
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- battlefieldCombat engagement area
- patriotismDevotion to one's homeland
- war deadMilitary personnel killed fighting
memorial · cenotaph · veterans · honor · remembrance · casualties · heroism · duty
One harmed by another
- self-pityExaggerated focus on own suffering
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
- persecution complexDelusion of being targeted
- sympathyCompassionate understanding of others
complaining · dramatic · attention · exaggeration · passive-aggressive · playing · guilt · manipulation
Violent governmental overthrow
- causeWhat produces an effect
- freedom fightersArmed opponents of oppression
- assassinatedMurdered for political reasons
- executedCarried out or killed
heroes · resistance · oppression · ideology · activism · memorial · commemoration · struggle
saints
Canonized religious figures
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- faithTrust without proof
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
canonization · relics · veneration · witness · apostles · early Christians · shrines · beatification · Stephen · Joan of Arc
fallen soldiers
Troops killed in warfare
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- battlefieldCombat engagement area
- patriotismDevotion to one's homeland
war dead · memorial · cenotaph · veterans · honor · remembrance · casualties · heroism · duty · tombstones
victim
One harmed by another
- self-pityExaggerated focus on own suffering
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
- persecution complexDelusion of being targeted
sympathy · complaining · dramatic · attention · exaggeration · passive-aggressive · playing · guilt · manipulation · resentment
revolution
Violent governmental overthrow
- causeWhat produces an effect
- freedom fightersArmed opponents of oppression
- assassinatedMurdered for political reasons
executed · heroes · resistance · oppression · ideology · activism · memorial · commemoration · struggle · dissidents
Martyrspersecutors
Those who cruelly harass
executioners · oppressors · inquisitors · torturers · tyrants
- martyr complexSelf-perception as perpetual sufferer
- Christian martyrBeliever killed for faith
- political martyrOne slain for ideology
- Catholic martyrOne killed for Catholicism
- martyr's shrinePlace honoring religious dead
- Christian martyrdomDeath for religious faith