From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmartyrdommar‧tyr‧dom /ˈmɑːtədəm $ ˈmɑːrtər-/ noun [uncountable] DIESUFFERdeath as a martyr In that year, thousands of Christians suffered martyrdom for their faith.
Examples from the Corpus
martyrdom• Near the end of his life, Young, fearing martyrdom, started going out in public only with armed escort.• Intensely painted scenes depict the gruesome martyrdom of countless saints.• They believe in martyrdom, and forbid members to have one-to-one meetings with their lawyers in jail.• His deterioration through Alzheimer's Disease with its abundant frustrations had long been for him a physical and mental martyrdom.• Its boasts about fanatical recruits lining up for paradise through the martyrdom of suicide-bombing may be bluster.• Other forms of holiness - that of the virgin and the ascetic - were assimilated to martyrdom. 