😳 With great shame 🙏 With self-denial

mortifyingly

9.1

Being very strict with yourself and having little comfort

adverb
/ˈmɔːrtɪfaɪɪŋli/

Formal

: austera y rigurosamente

The rules at the monastery were mortifyingly strict, requiring daily fasting and silence.

Examples

He lived mortifyingly, giving up all comforts for his beliefs.
The monks lived mortifyingly in silence and solitude.
She described her childhood as mortifyingly disciplined, with little room for fun or relaxation.
He chose to live mortifyingly by the strict rules of his faith.
He lived mortifyingly, giving up all comforts and pleasures to follow his faith strictly.
The rules at the monastery were mortifyingly strict, requiring members to engage in self-denial each day.
She adhered mortifyingly to the principles of her religion, sacrificing her desires for a higher purpose.

Antonyms

indulgently

2 6.6

In a kind, relaxed way that lets someone do things that may not be good for them

How Disciplined

ascetically

Formal

9.5

mortifyingly

Formal

9.1

abstemiously

Formal

9.1

moderately

47 2.8

Surface Forms

mortifyingly positive

Morphology

mortifyingly = mortifying (semi-transparent) = mortify + ing + ly

Formally transparent as an -ly adverb from 'mortifying', but the 'self-denial/ascetic' sense is specialized and less obvious to average learners.

Etymology

Mortifyingly comes from the Latin root mort meaning 'death', like in mortal. Long ago mortify meant 'to make dead', especially 'to make the body or its desires dead' by strict self-control, so something done mortifyingly describes harsh self-denial for religious or moral reasons.