mortification

[ mawr-tuh-fi-key-shuhn ]

See synonyms for mortification on Thesaurus.com

noun

a feeling of humiliation or shame, as through some injury to one's pride or self-respect.
a cause or source of such humiliation or shame.

the practice of asceticism by penitential discipline to overcome desire for sin and to strengthen the will.
Pathology. the death of one part of the body while the rest is alive; gangrene; necrosis.

Origin of mortification

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mortificacion, from Late Latin mortificātiōn- (stem of mortificātiō), equivalent to morti- (see mortify) + -ficatiōn--fication

synonym study For mortification

1. See shame.

Other words from mortification

pre·mor·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun

Words Nearby mortification

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mortification in a sentence

At a high school basketball game, for example, she will VERY loudly criticize a player, to the mortification of those sitting next to her.
Carolyn Hax: He’s a great guy, except for the bigotry | Carolyn Hax | December 11, 2020 | Washington Post
“Hey, muffins,” he calls to his children, with a “wince of mortification” at the whole scene.
This Week’s Hot Reads: May 13, 2013 | Mythili Rao, Sarah Stodola | May 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Bernard sat thinking for a long time; at first with a good deal of mortification—at last with a good deal of bitterness.
Confidence | Henry James
On the other hand, his feet are so cold from the artery being severed that they anticipate mortification.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
Two years before her death Mrs. Otis was glad to bury her mortification and misery in Rosewater.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton

A short triumph will be followed by a deep mortification, and the selfishness of their aims defeats itself.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence Hartley
We might as well run a hospital on the plan of never consenting to admit any case until mortification had set in!
English Poor Law Policy | Sidney Webb

British Dictionary definitions for mortification

mortification

/ (ˌmɔːtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən) /

noun

a feeling of loss of prestige or self-respect; humiliation
something causing this

Christianity the practice of mortifying the senses
another word for gangrene

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

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