English Explanatory Dictionary

mortify

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To discipline (one's body, appetites etc.) by suppressing desires; to practise abstinence on.
To injure the dignity of; to embarrass; to humiliate.
To kill.
To reduce the potency of; to nullify; to deaden, neutralize.
To affect with vexation or chagrin.
To scare.
To humble; to depress.
To grant in mortmain.
To lose vitality.
To kill off (living tissue etc.); to make necrotic.
To gangrene.
To be subdued.

Pronunciation

/ˈmɔːtɪfaɪ/ /ˈmoɹtɪfaɪ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-mortify.wav

Word forms

mortify mortifies mortifying mortified

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman mortifier, Middle French mortifier, from Late Latin mortificō (“cause death”), from Latin mors (“death”) + -ficō (“-fy”).

Synonyms

macerate demean humiliate shame dispose of terminate annihilate bag baptize bereave of life blight bring down bump off bury cack compromised to a permanent end croak crush dash deactivate dead demolish destroy dispatch do do in dust eliminate end eradicate ex exterminate finish finish off flatten grease knock off lay waste to make away with merc mortify neutralize obliterate off pay off pick off polish off pop off punch someone's ticket put an end to put down put someone out of their misery put six feet under put to sleep ravage rub out ruin scotch scupper scuttle

Antonyms

dignify honor

Related words

mortification

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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