What does mortified mean?
Mortified describes a state of intense embarrassment, shame, or humiliation, usually brought on by an embarrassing mistake, inappropriate behaviour, or a failure to meet expectations. It is stronger and more formal than merely feeling embarrassed, and it often implies that the speaker regards the situation as discreditable. A person may be "mortified to hear" bad news or "mortified by" an incident, although this second construction can also mean appalled by something distressing rather than ashamed of personal wrongdoing. The word can also convey horror or strong dismay. In older and medical usage, mortified may describe tissue that has died, as in "mortified flesh," but this sense is now uncommon. Historically, the word's connection with death helped give it an intensifying force: to feel mortified was to feel undone or overwhelmed. The expression is used in both British and American English and is especially common in formal reporting and in descriptions of public embarrassment.
Extremely embarrassed or ashamed; deeply appalled or horrified; in medical or historical use, affected by necrosis or death of tissue.
"The mayor was mortified by the damage caused to the historic building."
The figurative sense of personal shame is now dominant. The medical sense is chiefly historical or occurs in fixed expressions concerning tissue.
Past tense and past participle of mortify: to cause great embarrassment or shame in someone.
"Her failure to acknowledge the award mortified her colleagues."
Usually used with a direct object. It is less common in this grammatical role than the adjective sense.
Mortified originally suggested something made physically dead, giving rise to its modern sense of feeling as though one had been humiliated beyond endurance.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mortified come from?
Mortified comes through French from Latin mortificare, a verb meaning "to make dead," formed from mors, meaning "death." Its earliest uses could refer to physical destruction or the death of tissue. By the early modern period, the word had developed the figurative sense of being utterly overwhelmed by shame or embarrassment, a development reinforced by the association between death and complete ruin.
Related word forms
How mortified is actually used
In its dominant modern sense, mortified is a strong and formal term for intense embarrassment, especially when a person feels ashamed of their own conduct or an unfortunate mistake. The expression "mortified to..." is especially common before an infinitive, while "mortified by" introduces the source of the feeling.
Easily confused with mortified
Mortified describes intense embarrassment or shame, whereas murdered means killed intentionally.