as in embarrassment
the emotional state of being made self-consciously uncomfortable
the mortification of being dumped the night before the prom
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Recent Examples of mortification
But Constance offered no more in her own defense, for all her mortification.
—
Jim Shepard, New Yorker, 8 June 2025
Oldman’s face, set in brooding concentration, evokes a pained, vaguely incredulous mortification, which builds to a bitter, almost paralyzing ruefulness.
—Houman Barekat, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Hong again employs the long table-time takes that have witnessed the mortification of so many drunken characters, this time skewering Donghwa.
—Nicolas Rapold, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
Whetstone said the power was with the poster and encouraged her mother to be remorseful, express mortification with her actions and work to make amends.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mortification
Jim Shepard, New Yorker, 8 June 2025
Oldman’s face, set in brooding concentration, evokes a pained, vaguely incredulous mortification, which builds to a bitter, almost paralyzing ruefulness.
—Houman Barekat, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Hong again employs the long table-time takes that have witnessed the mortification of so many drunken characters, this time skewering Donghwa.
—Nicolas Rapold, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
Whetstone said the power was with the poster and encouraged her mother to be remorseful, express mortification with her actions and work to make amends.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mortification
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mortification
Noun
-
And no apologies for any embarrassment caused, either.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Most businesses would balk at creating a system that subjects some of its employees to public embarrassment.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Outside, the street was now clogged with driverless cars, their high beams on, in confusion, in paralysis, lacking any traffic lights to tell them what to do.—
Catherine Lacey,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The confusion allowed the CIA to uncover the location of the service member, who was hiding in a mountain crevice, the official said.—
Seung Min Kim,
Fortune,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Washington, in turn, was desperate to avoid a humiliation evoking memories of the botched US attempt to rescue 53 embassy staff held hostage by Iran in 1980.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
11 Apr. 2026
-
These two instances of humiliation, which could have caused an American auto exec to lash out, drove Toyoda to rethink his company’s methodology.—
Caleb Jacobs,
The Drive,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mortification.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mortification. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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