MORTIFY
necrose, gangrene, mortify, sphacelate
(verb) undergo necrosis; “the tissue around the wound necrosed”
humiliate, mortify, chagrin, humble, abase
(verb) cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of; “He humiliated his colleague by criticising him in front of the boss”
mortify, subdue, crucify
(verb) hold within limits and control; “subdue one’s appetites”; “mortify the flesh”
mortify
(verb) practice self-denial of one’s body and appetites
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
mortify (third-person singular simple present mortifies, present participle mortifying, simple past and past participle mortified)
(transitive) To discipline (one's body, appetites etc.) by suppressing desires; to practise abstinence on. [from 15th c.]
(transitive, usually, used passively) To embarrass, to humiliate. To injure one's dignity. [from 17th c.]
(obsolete, transitive) To kill. [14th–17th c.]
(obsolete, transitive) To reduce the potency of; to nullify; to deaden, neutralize. [14th–18th c.]
(obsolete, transitive) To kill off (living tissue etc.); to make necrotic. [15th–18th c.]
(obsolete, transitive) To affect with vexation, chagrin, or humiliation; to humble; to depress.
(transitive, Scotland, legal, historical) To grant in mortmain.
(intransitive) To lose vitality.
(intransitive) To gangrene.
(intransitive) To be subdued.
Synonyms
• (to discipline oneself by suppressing desires): macerate
• (to injure one's dignity): demean, humiliate, shame
Antonyms
• (to injure one's dignity): dignify, honor
Source: Wiktionary
Mor"ti*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mortified; p. pr. & vb. n.
Mortifying.] Etym: [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.
With fasting mortified, worn out with tears. Harte.
Mortify thy learned lust. Prior.
Mortify, rherefore, your members which are upon the earth. Col. iii.
5.
4. To affect with vexation, chagrin, or humiliation; to humble; 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.
Mor"ti*fy, v. i.
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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition