Word: mortify Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Anglo-Norman mortifier, Middle French mortifier, from Late Latin mortificō (“cause death”), from Latin mors (“death”) + -ficō (“-fy”). Pronunciation: /ˈmɔːtɪfaɪ/, /ˈmoɹtɪfaɪ/ 1. To discipline (one's body, appetites etc.) by suppressing desires; to practise abstinence on. Labels: transitive Example: Some people seek sainthood by mortifying the body. Example: With fasting mortify'd, worn out with tears. 2. To injure the dignity of; to embarrass; to humiliate. Labels: transitive, usually Example: 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. Example: 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. 3. To kill. Labels: obsolete, transitive Example: The second Spring after transplanting, purge them of all superfluous shoots and scions, reserving only the most towardly for the future stem; this to be done yearly, as long as they continue in the nursery; and if of the principal stem so left, the frost mortifie any part, cut it off [...] 4. To reduce the potency of; to nullify; to deaden, neutralize. Labels: obsolete, transitive Example: Soothly, the gode werkes, that he dide biforn that he fil in sinne, been al mortified and astoned and dulled by the ofte sinning. Example: Quicksilver is mortified with turpentine. 5. To affect with vexation or chagrin. Labels: transitive Example: He seemed to enjoy mortifying them with news of every fresh hell loosed in the capital. Example: 22 September 1651 (date in diary), 1818 (first published), John Evelyn, John Evelyn's Diary the news of the fatal battle of Worcester, which exceedingly mortified our expectations 6. To scare. Labels: transitive Example: Near-synonym: petrify Example: Please don't mortify your mother by telling her what a stupidly dangerous thing you did last night. 7. To humble; to depress. Labels: obsolete, transitive 8. To grant in mortmain. Labels: historical, transitive Example: the schoolmasters of Ayr were paid out of the mills mortified by Queen Mary 9. To lose vitality. Labels: intransitive Example: [...] Tis a pure ill-natur'd ſatisfaction to ſee one that was a beauty unfortunately move with the ſame languor, and ſoftneſs of behaviour, that once was charming in her—To ſee, I ſay, her mortify that us'd to kill [...] 10. To kill off (living tissue etc.); to make necrotic. Labels: archaic, transitive Example: Servius the Grammarian being troubled with the gowt, found no better meanes to be rid of it, than to apply poison to mortifie [translating tuer] his legs. 11. To gangrene. Labels: archaic, intransitive Example: For the inducing of putrefaction, it were good to try it with flesh or fish exposed to the moonbeams; and again exposed to the air when the moon shineth not, for the like time: to see whether will corrupt sooner: and try it also with capon, or some other fowl, laid abroad, to see whether it will mortify and become tender sooner; try it also with dead flies, or dead worms, having a little water cast upon them, to see whether will putrefy sooner. 12. To be subdued. Labels: intransitive Example: Trying to be kind and honest will require all his thoughts; a mortified appetite is never a wise companion; in so far as he has had to mortify an appetite, he will still be the worse man; and of such an one a great deal of cheerfulness will be required in judging life, and a great deal of humility in judging others.