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Mortify

//ˈmoɹtɪfaɪ// verb

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To discipline (one's body, appetites etc.) by suppressing desires; to practise abstinence on. transitive

    "Some people seek sainthood by mortifying the body."

  2. 2
    undergo necrosis wordnet
  3. 3
    To injure the dignity of; to embarrass; to humiliate. transitive, usually

    "I was so mortified I could have died right there; instead I fainted, but I swore I'd never let that happen to me again."

  4. 4
    cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of wordnet
  5. 5
    To kill. obsolete, transitive

    "The second Spring after transplanting, purge them of all superfluous shoots and scions, reserving only the most towardly for the future stem; this to be done yearly, as long as they continue in the nursery; and if of the principal stem so left, the frost mortifie any part, cut it off [...]"

Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    hold within limits and control wordnet
  2. 7
    To reduce the potency of; to nullify; to deaden, neutralize. obsolete, transitive

    "Soothly, the gode werkes, that he dide biforn that he fil in sinne, been al mortified and astoned and dulled by the ofte sinning."

  3. 8
    practice self-denial of one's body and appetites wordnet
  4. 9
    To affect with vexation or chagrin. transitive

    "He seemed to enjoy mortifying them with news of every fresh hell loosed in the capital."

  5. 10
    To scare. transitive

    "Near-synonym: petrify"

  6. 11
    To humble; to depress. obsolete, transitive
  7. 12
    To grant in mortmain. historical, transitive

    "the schoolmasters of Ayr were paid out of the mills mortified by Queen Mary"

  8. 13
    To lose vitality. intransitive

    "[...] Tis a pure ill-natur'd ſatisfaction to ſee one that was a beauty unfortunately move with the ſame languor, and ſoftneſs of behaviour, that once was charming in her—To ſee, I ſay, her mortify that us'd to kill [...]"

  9. 14
    To kill off (living tissue etc.); to make necrotic. archaic, transitive

    "Servius the Grammarian being troubled with the gowt, found no better meanes to be rid of it, than to apply poison to mortifie [translating tuer] his legs."

  10. 15
    To gangrene. archaic, intransitive

    "For the inducing of putrefaction, it were good to try it with flesh or fish exposed to the moonbeams; and again exposed to the air when the moon shineth not, for the like time: to see whether will corrupt sooner: and try it also with capon, or some other fowl, laid abroad, to see whether it will mortify and become tender sooner; try it also with dead flies, or dead worms, having a little water cast upon them, to see whether will putrefy sooner."

  11. 16
    To be subdued. intransitive

    "Trying to be kind and honest will require all his thoughts; a mortified appetite is never a wise companion; in so far as he has had to mortify an appetite, he will still be the worse man; and of such an one a great deal of cheerfulness will be required in judging life, and a great deal of humility in judging others."

Etymology

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

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