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Definition of 'crucify'

Learner: crucify English: crucify American: crucify

crucify

(krusɪfaɪ   )
Word forms: crucifies, crucifying, crucified
1. transitive verb [usu passive]
If someone is crucified, they are killed by being tied or nailed to a cross and left to die.
...the day that Christ was crucified.
2. transitive verb
To crucify someone means to criticize or punish them severely.
[informal]
She'll crucify me if she finds you still here.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

crucify in American

(ˈkrusəˌfaɪ   )
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈcruciˌfied or ˈcruciˌfying
1. 
to put to death by nailing or binding to a cross and leaving to die of exposure
2. 
to mortify (the flesh) as by asceticism
3. 
to be very cruel to; torment
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
crucifier (ˈcruciˌfier)
noun
Word origin of 'crucify'
ME crucifien < OFr crucifier < VL *crucificare < LL(Ec) crucifigere < L crux, cross + figere: see fix

crucify in British

(ˈkruːsɪˌfaɪ   )
verbWord forms: -fies, -fying or -fied (transitive)
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. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
crucifier (ˈcruciˌfier)
noun
Word origin of 'crucify'
C13: from Old French crucifier, from Late Latin crucifīgere to crucify, to fasten to a cross, from Latin crux cross + fīgere to fasten

Synonyms of 'crucify'

execute, put to death, nail to a cross
pan, rubbish, ridicule, slag (off)
torture, rack, torment, harrow
More Synonyms of crucify

Translations for 'crucify'

British English: crucify VERB
If someone is crucified, they are killed by being tied or nailed to a cross and left to die.
He was crucified on a diagonal cross.
  • American English: crucify
  • Brazilian Portuguese: crucificar
  • Chinese: 把…钉死在十字架上
  • European Spanish: crucificar
  • French: crucifier
  • German: kreuzigen
  • Italian: crocifiggere
  • Japanese: はりつけの刑に処せられる
  • Korean: 십자가에 못 박히다
  • European Portuguese: crucificar
  • Spanish: crucificar

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Nearby words of 'crucify'

  • crucifix
  • crucifixion
  • cruciform
  • crucify
  • Crucis
  • cruciverbal
  • cruciverbalism

  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'C'

Source

Definition of crucify from the Collins English Dictionary

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Apr 05, 2019
Scrabble score for 'crucify': 17
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