mortification
noun
mor·ti·fi·ca·tion
ˌmȯr-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən 
1
a
: a sense of humiliation and shame caused by something that wounds one's pride or self-respect
the mortification of being jilted by a little boarding-school girl—
Washington Irving
Washington Irving
b
: the cause of such humiliation or shame
3
: the subjection and denial of bodily passions and appetites by abstinence or self-inflicted pain or discomfort
was customary to practice mortification during Lent
Synonyms
Examples of mortification in a Sentence
the mortification of being dumped the night before the prom
Recent Examples on the Web
What Ventura alleges is more harrowing than anything in the years of cavalier gossip-page and forum rumors about the pair: grievous harm and mortification even as Diddy made bubbly late-night and daytime television appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2024
Your book is dealing with that too, this mortification of the flesh and Matrix-y refusal to engage with the body, denying the kids are going to find ways to make out in the bushes.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
The radical precision of Kant’s thought comes off as a product of the radical precision (or absurd rigidity) of his habits, which Collin nonetheless loads with pathos—as representing a quest for mental purity via the secular mortification of physicality.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Less than three years later, they had been subjected to a ritual mortification.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for mortification 
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2024
Your book is dealing with that too, this mortification of the flesh and Matrix-y refusal to engage with the body, denying the kids are going to find ways to make out in the bushes.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
The radical precision of Kant’s thought comes off as a product of the radical precision (or absurd rigidity) of his habits, which Collin nonetheless loads with pathos—as representing a quest for mental purity via the secular mortification of physicality.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Less than three years later, they had been subjected to a ritual mortification.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for mortification
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mortification.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mortification
Cite this Entry
“Mortification.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortification. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
mortification
noun
mor·ti·fi·ca·tion
ˌmȯrt-ə-fə-ˈkā-shən
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share