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Hero vs Martyr - What's the difference?

hero | martyr |

As nouns the difference between hero and martyr

is that hero is a real or mythical person of great bravery who carries out extraordinary deeds while martyr is one who willingly accepts being put to death for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after martyrdom.

As a proper noun Hero

is any of a number of legendary men and women, including the priestess loved by Leander.

As a verb martyr is

to make someone into a martyr by putting him or her to death for adhering to, or acting in accordance with, some belief, especially religious; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.

hero

English

(wikipedia hero)

Alternative forms

* heros

Noun

(es)
  • (rfc-sense) A real or mythical person of great bravery who carries out extraordinary deeds.
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • A role model.
  • The main protagonist in a work of fiction.
  • *
  • *
  • A large sandwich made from meats and cheeses; a hero sandwich.
  • (food styling, chiefly, attributive) The product chosen from several candidates to be photographed.
  • * 2003 , Solomon H. Katz, William Woys Weaver, Encyclopedia of Food and Culture
    • The preparation of the hero food involves any number of specialized techniques food stylists have developed to deal with the demands of photographing food.
  • * 2008 , Linda Bellingham, Jean Ann Bybee, Brad G. Rogers, Food Styling for Photographers (page 8)
    • Protect the hero food. Whether the hero items are on a table in the studio or in the refrigerator, freezer, etc., be sure they are identified as hero items and not for consumption.
  • * 2008 , David Random, Defying Gravity (page 24)
    • The food stylists this day had spent inordinate amounts of time preparing the hero product for a close-up scene.

    Synonyms

    * see * (sandwich) grinder, hoagie, hoagy, poor boy, po' boy, sub, submarine, submarine sandwich, torpedo, wedge

    Derived terms

    * * * * * * * * * * *

    Related terms

    *

    References

    Anagrams

    * (l) * (l) English nouns with irregular plurals ----

    martyr

    English

    (wikipedia martyr)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who willingly accepts being put to death for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after martyrdom.
    • Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr .
  • (by extension) One who sacrifices his or her life, station, or something of great personal value, for the sake of principle or to sustain a cause.
  • (with a prepositional phrase of cause) One who suffers greatly and/or constantly, even involuntarily.
    • Stan is a martyr''' to arthritis, Chris a ' martyr to Stan's endless moaning about it.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1937 , author=AJ Cronin , title=The Citadel , passage=He'd been a martyr to asthma all his life.}}
  • One who is killed or suffers greatly because of an identity or position, e.g., a young prince killed when his father, the king, is deposed for the purpose of preventing the restoration of the monarchy later.

    • Synonyms

    * shaheed, shahid

    Antonyms

    * confessor

    Derived terms

    {{der3, martyr complex , martyrdom , martyress , martyrial , martyrish , martyrizate , martyrize , martyrizer , martyrly , martyrolatry , martyrless , martyrship}}

    Related terms

    {{rel3, martyrdom , martyrion , martyrium , martyrologe , martyrologue , martyrology , martyry , protomartyr}}

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make someone into a martyr by putting him or her to death for adhering to, or acting in accordance with, some belief, especially religious; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.
  • To persecute.
    • ''Some religious and other minorities were martyred until extinction.
  • To torment; to torture.
    • The lovely Amoret, whose gentle heart
    Thou martyrest with sorrow and with smart. — Spenser

    Synonyms

    * martyrize

    Derived terms

    * martyrer