Question

mortify Our 14-year-old is mortified whenever he sees us dancing, especially if any of his school friends are around. ˈmɔrtɪˌfaɪ

Accepted Answer

(1) To subdue or deaden (the body) especially by self-discipline or self-inflicted pain. (2) To embarrass greatly. Mortify once actually meant “put to death,” but no longer. Its “deaden” sense is most familiar to us in the phrase “mortifying the flesh,” which refers to a custom once followed by devout Christians, who would starve themselves, deprive themselves of every comfort, and even whip themselves in order to subdue their bodily desires and punish themselves for their sins. But the most common use of mortify today is the “humiliate” sense; its connection with death is still apparent when we speak of “dying of embarrassment.

word	mortify
definition	(1) To subdue or deaden (the body) especially by self-discipline or self-inflicted pain. (2) To embarrass greatly.
eg_sentence	Our 14-year-old is mortified whenever he sees us dancing, especially if any of his school friends are around.
explanation	Mortify once actually meant “put to death,” but no longer. Its “deaden” sense is most familiar to us in the phrase “mortifying the flesh,” which refers to a custom once followed by devout Christians, who would starve themselves, deprive themselves of every comfort, and even whip themselves in order to subdue their bodily desires and punish themselves for their sins. But the most common use of mortify today is the “humiliate” sense; its connection with death is still apparent when we speak of “dying of embarrassment.
IPA	ˈmɔrtɪˌfaɪ

Mortify Subdue Deaden Body Self Discipline Self Inflicted Pain Embarrass