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# crucify

«crucify» in Mova's school dictionary: **To kill someone by nailing or tying them to a cross and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (crucify, crucifies, crucified, crucifying)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To kill someone by nailing or tying them to a cross and leaving them to die — a cruel punishment used in ancient times, especially by the Romans. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#m1)

2) (Bible, church) Used of Jesus: Christians believe Jesus was crucified and rose again on the third day. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#m2)

3) (informal) To criticise someone very harshly or punish them badly: «The newspapers crucified the manager.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#m3)

4) (informal, sport) To beat someone very heavily. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In religious education and church life: the Gospels tell how Jesus was crucified; Good Friday remembers his death, Easter his rising. In history: the Romans crucified rebels and slaves. In everyday informal talk: «My mum will crucify me if I'm late!» means she will be very angry (an exaggeration). Phrases: «was crucified», «crucified under Pontius Pilate», «crucify someone for something».

### examples

- The Romans crucified criminals as a warning to others. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#x1)
- Christians believe Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and rose again on Easter Sunday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#x2)
- The creed says he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#x3)
- Two thieves were crucified beside Jesus. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#x4)
- Mum will crucify me if I lose another coat! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#x5)
- The critics crucified the new film. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#x6)
- We got crucified six–nil in the final. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/#x7)

### note

Irregular spelling: y changes to i before -es and -ed: crucifies, crucified; but «crucifying». Nouns: «crucifixion» (the act), «crucifix» (a cross with the figure of Jesus on it). Talk about the religious meaning respectfully. The informal sense is an exaggeration, not a real threat.

### In the corpora

- [The Roman governor Pontius Pilate found no fault in Jesus but let the crowd have him crucified.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/18-the-last-supper-and-the-crucifixion/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «crucify» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crucify/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.