What does mortification mean?
Mortification is a formal word for a deep feeling of shame, embarrassment, or humiliation, usually brought on by an embarrassing mistake, failure, or humiliating experience. It is more intense and more ceremonious than the ordinary word 'shame,' and its literary sound makes it especially suitable for descriptions of public embarrassment or a person's reaction to a severe social disgrace. The word can also refer, particularly in religious and historical contexts, to the deliberate disciplining of the body through fasting, pain, or other self-denial. The expression 'mortification of the flesh' preserves this older sense. In contemporary use, mortification usually implies an internal emotional response rather than simply describing an embarrassing event itself. Its associations with humility, punishment, and public disgrace make it useful for expressive writing, although more neutral alternatives such as 'embarrassment' or 'humiliation' are often preferable in ordinary conversation.
A feeling of shame, embarrassment, or humiliation caused by a humiliating or degrading experience.
"The error filled him with mortification."
Formal and literary; stronger and more emphatic than 'embarrassment' or 'shame' in ordinary speech.
The practice of disciplining the body through pain, fasting, or other forms of self-denial, especially for religious reasons.
"They regarded fasting and pilgrimage as forms of mortification."
Chiefly religious, historical, or literary, and usually appears in formal or fixed expressions.
Plural forms are possible, although the word is more commonly used in the singular for a feeling of shame or humiliation.
"The novel explores the private mortifications of life behind public respectability."
From the same Latin root meaning death, 'mortification' originally described the body’s deathlike austerity in religious self-denial before settling into its familiar meaning of intense shame.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mortification come from?
The word comes through Old French from Latin mortificatio, a noun meaning the killing or making dead, derived from mortificare, 'to make dead.' The underlying roots are mors, 'death,' and facere, 'to make.' In English, the term first developed in religious language for bodily self-denial and then broadened to mean shame or humiliation.
Related word forms
How mortification is actually used
The dominant modern use is formal or literary and conveys a strong sense of shame. The religious or historical sense, especially in 'mortification of the flesh,' refers to bodily self-denial and is now uncommon in everyday language.
Easily confused with mortification
Mortification means shame or humiliation, whereas a mortgage is a property loan secured by real estate.