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Glite Dictionary
😳 To embarrass deeply 🙏 To control desires 🦠 To die (tissue)
to mortify

to mortify

2 8.1
To control strong desires by denying yourself
  • verb
  • /ˈmɔːrtɪfaɪ/
  • Formal
translation icon : mortificar
  • When we realize that we have only succeeded in mortifying sins in a few areas but have failed in many other places, we become depressed.
  • mortify the flesh

Examples

  • Mortify the flesh and grow souls.

    The Householder (1963)

  • If you would have your sins mortified, you must by faith draw Christ into your hearts.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Just to give a concrete example: someone is battling the use of drugs; how would they practically mortify this sin?

    Blog text (25)

  • We mortify sin through various means to be pleasing to God, not to earn righteousness.

    Blog text (25)

  • She has been mortifying her flesh, fasting, as she has learned the saints did.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Even a 'spiritual man' can fall for it, but the good news is that there's no urge that can't be mortified through constant studying of God's word and praying in the Spirit.

    Blog text (30)

  • For Agnes, Felipa, and Marguerite, inclusion of their subjects' ascetic practices seems intended simply to satisfy a general expectation that saintly figures should mortify the body.

    Academic text (2007)

  • In many religious traditions, followers are taught to mortify their desires to grow spiritually.

  • The monk chose to mortify his hunger by fasting for several weeks.

  • To achieve self-discipline, she decided to mortify her cravings for unnecessary luxuries.

Synonyms

to subdue
vsto mortify
37 5.5

To bring a person or thing under control, often by force

controls desires through self denial for moral or religious reasons

Antonyms

to satisfy
172 2.0

Make someone happy by meeting their need or wish

to indulge
68 4.3

To allow yourself to enjoy something pleasant, often more than needed

How Disciplined

to mortify
  • Formal
2 8.1
to abstain
18 5.0
to refrain
87 4.2

Surface Forms

mortify infinitive
mortified past
mortified past participle
mortifying present participle
mortifies third person singular

Morphology

mortify = mort + ify

The sense 'to subdue or deny desires' preserves the metaphorical 'put to death' meaning of the root plus '-ify', so it is related but figurative and not fully transparent to learners unfamiliar with 'mort-'.

Etymology

Mortify used for self-control also comes from mort- 'death' and means to 'make dead' your desires. That's why people say you can mortify a want by fasting or denying yourself to control it.