mortification

American  

[mawr-tuh-fi-key-shuhn] / ˌmɔr tə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. a feeling of humiliation or shame, as through some injury to one's pride or self-respect.

2. a cause or source of such humiliation or shame.

3. the practice of asceticism by penitential discipline to overcome desire for sin and to strengthen the will.

4. Pathology. the death of one part of the body while the rest is alive; gangrene; necrosis.

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mortification British  

/ ˌmɔːtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. a feeling of loss of prestige or self-respect; humiliation

2. something causing this

3. Christianity the practice of mortifying the senses

4. another word for gangrene

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Usage

What does mortification mean? Mortification is a feeling of humiliation or extreme embarrassment. You know when you do something so unbearably embarrassing that you just want to shrivel up and die? That’s the feeling of mortification. Which is fitting because the word comes from a root meaning “death.”In other words, mortification is the state of being mortified—humiliated or extremely embarrassed. Things that are humiliating or extremely embarrassing can be described as mortifying. Both mortify and mortification also have meanings that relate to literal death. In medical terms, mortification refers to the death of one part of the body while the rest of the body is alive. This is more technically called gangrene or necrosis. Mortification is also used (less commonly) in a religious context, in which it refers to the ascetic practice of self-discipline with the goal of strengthening one’s will and overcoming the desire to sin. In Christianity, forms of mortification include things like fasting. In some extreme cases, especially in older times, it has included things like self-flagellation—whipping oneself. Example: I can’t even express the sense of mortification I felt when I forgot every single word of my speech and then tripped while trying to run away.

Related Words

See shame.

Other Word Forms

• premortification noun

Etymology

Origin of mortification

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mortificacion, from Late Latin mortificātiōn- (stem of mortificātiō ), equivalent to morti- ( mortify ) + -ficatiōn- -fication

Explanation

If you've ever gone an entire day with your fly unzipped, not realizing until after you've given a speech in front of a huge audience, you know what mortification feels like. Mortification is the feeling of being completely humiliated. The word mortification has its roots in the Latin word for "death," mors. The original meaning of mortification was religious; in Christianity the meaning is "putting your sin to death". In Christian practice, this has varied from denying oneself pleasurable things, like certain foods, to inflicting physical pain on oneself. The religious reason for this kind of mortification is to cause the "death" of sins — or desires — of the body.

Example Sentences

Also because many of those who have been dealt the mortification were comparatively affluent and accomplished.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

I think everybody else was looking around for somebody else to validate their judgment, but they’re feeling pretty antsy given the mortification here.

From Slate • Sep. 18, 2024

Maybe it was the sense of hopelessness and mortification that made them throw caution, and inferiority, to the wind.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2024

I’d like to think a modern 11-year-old wouldn’t be so racked with mortification but, trust me, the ’80s were a different time.

From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2023

Powell had the queasy feeling that if the robot’s face were capable of expression, it would be one of pain and mortification.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov