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Synonyms

crucify

American  
[kroo-suh-fahy] / ˈkru səˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

crucified, crucifying

  1. to put to death by nailing or binding the hands and feet to a cross.

  2. to treat with gross injustice; persecute; torment; torture.

  3. to subdue (passion, sin, etc.).

crucify British  
/ ˈkruːsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

  1. to put to death by crucifixion

  2. slang to defeat, ridicule, etc, totally

    the critics crucified his performance

  3. to treat very cruelly; torment

  4. to subdue (passion, lust, etc); mortify

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • crucifier noun
  • uncrucified adjective

Etymology

Origin of crucify

Middle English crucifien < Anglo-French, Old French crucifier < Latin crucifīgere, equivalent to Latin cruci- (stem of crux ) cross + fīgere to fix, bind fast

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.