# martel vs martyr

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### martel
*noun · IPA /ˈmɑːtəl/ · frequency rank #46,607*
A hammer, especially a war hammer.

### martyr
*noun · IPA /ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #15,862*
One who willingly accepts being put to death or willingly accepts challenging and exposing iniquity done to oneself for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after red martyrdom.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/martel-vs-martyr