Meanings
plural mortifications
- countableuncountableThe act of mortifying.
- countableuncountableA sensation of extreme shame or embarrassment.
Near-synonym: humiliation
3 more examples
Certainly a little mortification appears very becoming in a wife—don't you think it will do her good to let her Pine a little.
1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, V.iiHe felt stunned—mortification, sorrow, and anger, mingled together: the past was like a dream, and the future swam indistinctly before him.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Consent”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 152The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLCSynonyms: humiliation · Antonyms: honor, exaltation
- countableuncountableA bringing under of the passions and appetites by a severe or strict manner of living.
- countablehistoricaluncountablechiefly Scots lawA bequest to a charitable institution.
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe localized death of living cells (as from infection or the interruption of blood supply)
nounan instance in which you are caused to lose your prestige or self-respect
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinmortificātiō
- Middle Frenchmortification
- Middle Englishmortificacioun, mortification
- Englishmortification
From Middle English mortificacioun, mortification, from Middle French mortification and its etymon Latin mortificātiō. By surface analysis, mortify + -ication.
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian унижение, умъртвяване
- унижение (uniženie)a sensation of extreme shame
- умъртвяване (umărtvjavane)death of a body part
- гангрена (gangrena)death of a body part
Czech ponížení, zahanbení
- poníženíact of mortifying
- zahanbeníact of mortifying
- ztrapněníact of mortifying
- poníženía sensation of extreme shame
- zahanbenía sensation of extreme shame
- odumíránídeath of a body part
Greek ταπείνωση, προσβολή
- ταπείνωση (tapeínosi)a sensation of extreme shame
- προσβολή (prosvolí)a sensation of extreme shame
- νέκρωση (nékrosi)death of a body part
- γάγγραινα (gángraina)death of a body part
Japanese 屈辱, 壊死
- 屈辱 (kutsujoku)a sensation of extreme shame
- 壊死 (eshi)death of a body part
Russian омертве́ние
- омертве́ниеdeath of a body part
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with mortification
Cite this entry
mortification. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mortification
“mortification.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mortification. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mortification,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mortification.
Source: mortification on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.