mortify
/ˈmoɹtɪfaɪ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.81 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To discipline (one's body, appetites etc.) by suppressing desires; to practise abstinence on.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "Some people seek sainthood by mortifying the body."
- "With fasting mortify'd, worn out with tears."
- "Mortify thy learned lust."
- "Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth."
- "I was so mortified I could have died right there; instead I fainted, but I swore I'd never let that happen to me again."
- "Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better."
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman mortifier, Middle French mortifier, from Late Latin mortificō (“cause death”), from Latin mors (“death”) + -ficō (“-fy”).
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmoɹtɪfaɪ/
- British English: /ˈmɔːtɪfaɪ/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Frequently Paired Words
Synonyms
macerate
demean
humiliate
shame
dispose of
terminate
annihilate
bag
baptize
bereave of life
blight
bring down