as in embarrassing
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress
was mortified by her children's atrocious manners
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in humiliating
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mortifying
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
The mortifying moment comes at a time when international tourism continues to rebound strongly despite global uncertainty.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
What feels energizing to one person can feel mortifying to another.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2025
The people who have the most money and power are the first to give up, and, frankly, that should be mortifying for them.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
This is not a disaster or a triumph — this is just high school as a necessary, sometimes mortifying, and occasionally meaningful part of life.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
The mortifying moment comes at a time when international tourism continues to rebound strongly despite global uncertainty.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
What feels energizing to one person can feel mortifying to another.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
And that display from our fans was mortifying.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2025
The people who have the most money and power are the first to give up, and, frankly, that should be mortifying for them.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mortifying
Verb
-
The Bears lost this matchup in embarrassing fashion last year as the Commanders completed a Hail Mary with time expiring.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
-
The games themselves are embarrassing enough to watch.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Legette had to leap on the ball to keep the play at the humiliating level and not catastrophic.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Which must make this year’s 37-0 home loss to the Hawkeyes (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) feel even more humiliating.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This brings the total to more than $2 million raised to influence the outcome of Referendum 310, funding a wave of misleading ads aimed at confusing voters.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
15 Oct. 2025
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The British and American versions also have different plot points, further confusing the matter, but the score has endured and developed a cult-following.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This sub is routinely very humbling.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Charles Rolsky, executive director and senior research scientist at the Shaw Institute, a nonprofit focusing on the links between environmental and human health, says that many studies, including his own, suggest PVA can pass through wastewater treatment without completely degrading.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
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The mission emphasized that detaining adolescents under such conditions amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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What once was aberrant—indeed, unimaginable—is now standard Trump fare, demeaning not only to the Presidency but to the rule of law.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
-
For decades, Indigenous leaders and advocates across the state and country have been trying to convince school communities that the use of such mascots and logos are inappropriate, demeaning and harmful.—
Frank Vaisvilas,
jsonline.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mortifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mortifying. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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