mortify
verb
Simple meaning
To injure the dignity of.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mawrtihfySay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɔɹtɪfaɪ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitiveusually used passively
To injure the dignity of; to embarrass; to humiliate.
Practice self-denial of one's body and appetites
transitive
To discipline (one's body, appetites etc.) by suppressing desires; to practise abstinence on.
transitive
To affect with vexation or chagrin.
transitive
To scare.
intransitive
To lose vitality.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Typical Use
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To injure the dignity of; to embarrass; to humiliate.
Used this way, mortify is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.