From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Mortify \Mor"ti*fy\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Mortified}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Mortifying}.] [OE. mortifien, F. mortifier, fr. L. mortificare; L. mors, mortis, death + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See {Mortal}, and {-fy}.]
1. To destroy the organic texture and vital functions of; to produce gangrene in.
2. To destroy the active powers or essential qualities of; to change by chemical action. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
Quicksilver is mortified with turpentine. --Bacon.
He mortified pearls in vinegar. --Hakewill.
3. To deaden by religious or other discipline, as the carnal affections, bodily appetites, or worldly desires; to bring into subjection; to abase; to humble; as, to mortify the flesh.
With fasting mortified, worn out with tears. --Harte.
Mortify thy learned lust. --Prior.
Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth. --Col. iii. 5.
4. To affect with vexation, chagrin; to depress.
The news of the fatal battle of Worcester, which exceedingly mortified our expectations. --Evelyn.
How often is the ambitious man mortified with the very praises he receives, if they do not rise so high as he thinks they ought! --Addison.
5. To humiliate deeply, especially by injuring the pride of; to embarrass painfully; to humble; as, the team was mortified to lose by 45 to 0. [1913 Webster + PJC]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Mortify \Mor"ti*fy\, verb (used without an object)
1. To lose vitality and organic structure, as flesh of a living body; to gangrene.
2. To practice penance from religious motives; to deaden desires by religious discipline.
This makes him . . . give alms of all that he hath, watch, fast, and mortify. --Law.
3. To be subdued; to decay, as appetites, desires, etc.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
verb
1: practice self-denial of one's body and appetites
2: hold within limits and control; "subdue one's appetites"; "mortify the flesh" [syn: {subdue}, {cricify}]
3: cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of; "He humiliated his colleague by criticising him in front of the boss" [syn: {humiliate}, {chagrin}, {humble}, {abase}]
4: undergo necrosis; "the tissue around the wound necrosed" [syn: {necrose}, {gangrene}, {sphacelate}] [also: {mortified}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
60 Moby Thesaurus words for "mortify": abash, break up, bring down, canker, cast down, castigate, chagrin, chasten, confound, confuse, control, corrupt, crumble, crumble into dust, crush, decay, decompose, deflate, degrade, discipline, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, disgrace, disintegrate, disturb, downgrade, embarrass, fall into decay, fall to pieces, fester, gangrene, go bad, go to pieces, humble, humiliate, let down, mildew, mold, molder, necrose, punish, put down, put out, put to shame, putrefy, putresce, rankle, rebuff, reduce, rot, shame, sphacelate, spoil, subdue, subjugate, suppress, suppurate, throw into confusion, upset
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