How to Use mortify in a Sentence

mortify

verb
  • It mortified me to have to admit that I'd never actually read the book.
  • Rather than the masterminds of a conspiracy to gain an advantage in sport, the Nazis were mortified to discover that Ratjen was intersex.
    Michael Waters / Made By History, TIME, 29 July 2024
  • A year ago, this group had been mortified by Trump’s election and the rise of populism around the world.
    Time, 25 Jan. 2018
  • Then my brother saw the letter and opened it and read it out loud and made fun of me, and I was mortified.
    Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2024
  • The actress added that she was both mortified and impressed by Ivy’s joke.
    Stephanie Kaloi, Peoplemag, 7 Dec. 2023
  • The purpose of British wedding speeches is to mortify the groom (and bride) for at least ten minutes.
    Jessica Pan, The Cut, 17 May 2018
  • Getting caught with your hand in the church plate is mortifying.
    Howard Cohen, miamiherald, 28 Mar. 2018
  • But when Mr. Obama and the rest of his entourage rose to do the wave, Sasha stayed seated, her arm over her face as if mortified.
    Julie Hirschfeld Davis, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2016
  • They’d be mortified, but also kind of still drunk enough to be giggly.
    Mike Sacks, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2017
  • He's mortified, then obeys and is rendered totally naked in front of her and the cameras.
    Lorraine Ali, latimes.com, 20 Apr. 2018
  • Jane’s skill at Mozart’s Sonata in F shocks and amuses but isn’t pleasing enough in the film to mortify us on Emma’s account.
    The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2020
  • At the moment, that means staying lean—and building his butt, which was mortifying for Gage to share in that scene on The White Lotus.
    Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 7 Mar. 2023
  • The Hoosiers weren’t just unwilling to throw the ball, they were absolutely mortified to do so.
    Andrew Gillis, cleveland, 3 Sep. 2023
  • Someone said their husband’s dad, which would mortify me even more!
    Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 22 Sep. 2023
  • But many people would be mortified to be caught unclad in public.
    Ian Gilligan, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Apr. 2023
  • Lewis said she was mortified at hearing her former boss’ claim.
    Curtis Bunn, NBC News, 12 Jan. 2024
  • Large-scale protests in Hong Kong on that sacred date would mortify the Chinese government.
    Mary Hui, Quartz, 30 Aug. 2019
  • The guy Becca is talking to is similarly mortified, but takes it in stride.
    Meagan Fredette, refinery29.com, 3 June 2018
  • Here’s hoping the remainder of Trump’s foreign trip will be at least somewhat less gaffe-filled and mortifying to the USA and those of us who still care about how the world perceives us.
    Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, 7 July 2017
  • Thoroughly mortified, Lucas called her the next day to check in and apologize.
    Charles Curkin, ELLE Decor, 23 Mar. 2023
  • McCollum pushed for the 2010 law in reaction to the billions won by the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco, mortified that the money wasn’t going to the public.
    Lawrence Mower, miamiherald, 14 May 2018
  • As the editor of a scientific journal, I was mortified to read the claims laid out in Lewis-Kraus’s article.
    Condé Nast, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
  • His audience looked baffled at best and mortified at worst.
    Rory Smith, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2024
  • While there was comfort in knowing that back-up plan was there if needed, the implementation of that plan would have mortified her.
    Julie Heath, Cincinnati.com, 1 Jan. 2018
  • Levy: Something that’s slightly mortifying for me — Aria and I were in Budapest, staying at the same hotel.
    Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023
  • Environmental groups that fended off oil rigs in the Arctic Refuge for four decades were mortified.
    Dan Joling, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Oct. 2019
  • She too was mortified by Harley’s behavior and sent a letter of apology to the chapter for her reference.
    Marwa Eltagouri, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2018
  • Putin has two hopes for a less than completely mortifying rescue from his Ukraine blunder.
    Nbc Universal, NBC News, 16 July 2023
  • But what is so mortifying about wearing a company T-shirt with your colleagues?
    Roxane Gay, New York Times, 30 May 2023
  • She was mortified and apologized profusely—and hopefully doesn’t make that mistake again in the future.
    Paul J. Heney, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 June 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mortify.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: