as in to embarrass
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress
was mortified by her children's atrocious manners
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Recent Examples of mortify
Emily is mortified and apologizes profusely, but these two can no longer be together.
—
Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Ursula Lindsey The Norwegian writer Vigdis Hjorth has a gift for depicting painful, confusing, and mortifying relationships.
—Joanna Walsh, The New York Review of Books, 15 Nov. 2025
His certainly-not-boring tale mortified numerous colleagues, including Crick, who even tried to block the book's publication.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
These weird, offensive comms mortified his siblings.
—Coley Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mortify
Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Ursula Lindsey The Norwegian writer Vigdis Hjorth has a gift for depicting painful, confusing, and mortifying relationships.
—Joanna Walsh, The New York Review of Books, 15 Nov. 2025
His certainly-not-boring tale mortified numerous colleagues, including Crick, who even tried to block the book's publication.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
These weird, offensive comms mortified his siblings.
—Coley Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mortify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mortify
Verb
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Perhaps the Germans have a word for the experience of watching your country’s leader embarrass himself and the country on the global stage.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
21 Jan. 2026
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The Pats are returning to the AFC Championship Game on a road paved by their defense, a defense that snatched four interceptions and embarrassed a precocious young quarterback.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Transparency Without Predictability Feels Like an Excuse Don’t confuse transparency with honesty.—
Shep Hyken,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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Last summer, Noemi Rios of Dallas started the grassroots organization Vecinos Unidos to advise immigrants of their rights and to identify people who may be confused by or scared of the system.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mortify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mortify. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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