mortify

American  

[mawr-tuh-fahy] / ˈmɔr təˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

mortified, mortifying

1. to humiliate or shame, as by injury to one's pride or self-respect.

   Synonyms:

   abase, humble

2. to subjugate (the body, passions, etc.) by abstinence, ascetic discipline, or self-inflicted suffering.

   Synonyms:

   restrain, subdue

3. Pathology. to affect with gangrene or necrosis.

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verb (used without object)

mortified, mortifying

1. to practice mortification or disciplinary austerities.

2. Pathology. to undergo mortification; become gangrened or necrosed.

mortify British  

/ ˈmɔːtɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to humiliate or cause to feel shame

2. (tr) Christianity to subdue and bring under control by self-denial, disciplinary exercises, etc

3. (intr) to undergo tissue death or become gangrenous

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Usage

What does mortify mean? Mortify means to humiliate or embarrass in an extreme way. You know when you do something so unbearably embarrassing that you just want to shrivel up and die? That’s what it’s like to feel mortified. Which is fitting because the word comes from a root meaning “death.”Things that are humiliating or extremely embarrassing can be described as mortifying. This feeling of humiliation or extreme embarrassment can be called mortification. Mortify can also be used in a way that relates to literal death. In medical terms, to mortify is to undergo mortification—the death of one part of the body while the rest of the body is alive. This is more technically called gangrene or necrosis. Mortify is also used (less commonly) in a religious context, in which it means to  practice ascetic self-discipline with the goal of strengthening one’s will and overcoming the desire to sin. In Christianity, forms of mortification include things like fasting. In some extreme cases, especially in older times, it has included things like self-flagellation—whipping oneself. Example: Even when I do my best not to embarrass my kids, I still end up mortifying them on most occasions.

Related Words

See ashamed.

Other Word Forms

• mortifier noun
• mortifying adjective
• mortifyingly adverb
• premortify verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of mortify

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mortifien, from Middle French mortifier, from Late Latin mortificāre “to put to death,” equivalent to Latin morti- (stem of mors ) “death” + -ficāre -fy

Explanation

To mortify someone is to cause them extreme embarrassment. Your mother may not have been trying to mortify you when she showed up at your senior prom with a bunch of unicorn balloons, but she did. The root of the verb mortify is from the Latin word mors, which means “death.” To mortify something used to mean to destroy its life, but now mortify is mostly used when you feel so ashamed or embarrassed you “want to die.” To punish yourself through deprivation from food or another desire, you can mortify that compulsion, but it’s probably best to just mortify your parents by showing up at their work place with a new mohawk.

Example Sentences

That it seems a choice at all is what should mortify us.

From Salon • Feb. 9, 2024

A few years after I sent the quarterback the audio recording, a friend who lived in his dorm told me that he’d played it aloud for his buddies in an effort to mortify me.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2024

The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was mortify.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2023

“Don’t take advantage of your own position and role to mortify the other.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2022

Women who had lost their children drifted over little by little, to mortify themselves with possibilities and never-would-bes.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Related Words

• annoy
• chagrin
• confound
• deflate
• disgrace
• displease
• embarrass
• humiliate
• subdue
• vex