mortification
nounUK /ˌmɔːtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ · US /ˌmoɹtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
Etymology From Middle English mortificacioun, mortification, from Middle French mortification and its etymon Latin mortificātiō. By surface analysis, mortify + -ication.
1
The act of mortifying.
2
A sensation of extreme shame or embarrassment.
- Near-synonym: humiliation
- Certainly a little mortification appears very becoming in a wife—don't you think it will do her good to let her Pine a little.1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, V.ii:
2 more examples
- He felt stunned—mortification, sorrow, and anger, mingled together: the past was like a dream, and the future swam indistinctly before him.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Consent”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 152:
- The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
3
Medicine, Sciences The death of part of the body.
- And then there's the fever and the mortification—if it took bad ways he'd quickly be gone.1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 5”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
4
A bringing under of the passions and appetites by a severe or strict manner of living.
5
Historical A bequest to a charitable institution.
Chiefly Scots law
- Derived terms
- immortification, mortification root