crucify

Verb

Synonyms: torment rag bedevil dun frustrate mortify subdue savage blast pillory

WordNet 3.0

Verb (4)

kill by nailing onto a cross“Jesus Christ was crucified”
treat cruelly“The children tormented the stuttering teacher”Synonyms: torment rag bedevil dun frustrate
hold within limits and control“subdue one's appetites”“mortify the flesh”Synonyms: mortify subdue
criticize harshly or violently“The press savaged the new President”“The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage”Synonyms: savage blast pillory

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Crucify \Cru"ci*fy\ (-f?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crucified (-f?d); p. pr. & vb. n. Crucifying.] [F. crucifier, fr. (assumed) LL. crucificare, for crucifigere, fr, L. crux, crucis, cross + figere to fix, the ending -figere being changed to -ficare, F. -fier (in compounds), as if fr. L. facere to do, make. See Cross, and Fix, and cf. Crucifix.]

1.To fasten to a cross; to put to death by nailing the hands and feet to a cross or gibbet. [1913 Webster]

They cried, saying, Crucify him, cricify him.— Luke xxiii. 21.[1913 Webster]

2.To destroy the power or ruling influence of; to subdue completely; to mortify. [1913 Webster]

They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts.— Gal. v. 24.[1913 Webster]

3.To vex or torment. --Beau. & FL. [1913 Webster]