mortify
Definitions
To make someone feel extremely embarrassed or ashamed
使极度难堪，使羞愧
To subdue bodily desires through self-discipline or self-denial (esp. religious)
（尤指宗教上）克制肉体欲望，苦修禁欲
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedmort (death) + -ify (to make) = 'to put to death.' Medieval monks would 'mortify the flesh,' killing off bodily desire through fasting and discipline. From deadening the body the meaning drifted to deadening the spirit, and finally to today's everyday sense: to crush someone with embarrassment, as if they could die of shame.
Root mort still carries 24 more wordsWhy It Means This
The journey from 'kill' to 'embarrass' is one of the more dramatic in English. The literal Latin sense — to put to death — survived in religious 'mortifying the flesh,' deliberately deadening physical appetite. As that practice faded, the word kept its feeling of being deadened or crushed, and attached it to the social agony of shame. To be mortified is to feel so humiliated that, for a moment, you almost wish you were dead.
Common Collocations
- 1.be mortified感到无地自容
- 2.mortify the flesh克制肉欲，苦修
- 3.deeply mortified深感羞愧
- 4.absolutely mortified尴尬至极
Example Sentences
- 1.
She was mortified when she realized her mic had been on the whole time.
- 2.
It would mortify him to be praised in front of the whole class.
- 3.
The monks mortified the flesh through fasting and long vigils.