ˈmȯ(r)d.əˌfī, -(r)tə- verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English mortifien, from Middle French mortifier, from Late Latin mortificare to mortify, kill, from Latin morti- (from mort-, mors death) + -ficare -fy
transitive verb
1. obsolete
a. : to put to death : destroy
if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live — Rom 8:13 (Authorized Version)
b. : to destroy the strength, vitality, or functioning of : deaden the effect of
the tendons were mortified and … he could never have the use of his leg — Daniel Defoe
the knowledge of future evils mortifies present felicities — Sir Thomas Browne
2. : to subdue or deaden (as the body or bodily appetites) by abstinence, self-discipline, or self-inflicted pain or discomfort
the flesh tended to corruption, and to achieve the pious ends of life one must mortify it … lessening its appetites by fasting and abstention — Lewis Mumford
one is taught in the noviceship to mortify one's palate at least once during every meal — Monica Baldwin
3. Scots law : to grant in mortmain for religious, charitable, or public uses
to administer and manage the whole revenue and property of the University including funds mortified for bursaries and other purposes — Edinburgh University Cal.
4. obsolete : to make (meat) tender by aging
5. : to subject to or cause to feel embarrassment, chagrin, or vexation : humiliate
it would mortify me that you shouldn't be perfectly dressed — W.S.Maugham
was no longer mortified by comparisons between her sisters' beauty and her own — Jane Austen
intransitive verb
1. : to practice mortification : lead an ascetic life
a sort of mammoth lay monastery relieved of the obligation to mortify — James Binder
2. : to lose organic structure : become gangrenous : decay