Mortification is a feeling of extreme embarrassment or shame. It can also mean the act of deliberately denying yourself pleasures for religious or moral reasons, though this use is rarer today.
From Late Latin *mortificatio*, meaning “a killing” or “putting to death,” from *mortificare* “to cause death, to subdue,” based on *mort-* “death.” The word shifted from the idea of killing physical desires to the strong emotional pain of shame and embarrassment.
When you say you’re “mortified,” you’re literally saying you feel so embarrassed it’s like a little part of you has died. The word grew out of religious practices where people tried to “kill” bad habits or desires. Over time, we kept the drama and applied it to social disasters, like tripping on stage.
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