mortify
/ˈmoɹtɪfaɪ/verb
mortify is spelled M-O-R-T-I-F-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, mortify means “To discipline (one's body, appetites etc.) by suppressing desires; to practise abstinence on” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in mortify?
| Letters | 7: M-O-R-T-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 118,441st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is mortify?
Mortify appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mortify?
- UK /ˈmɔːtɪfaɪ/
- US /ˈmoɹtɪfaɪ/
Mortify has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-mortify.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of mortify
- mortifies present, singular, he/she/it
- mortifying participle, present
- mortified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mortify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To discipline (one's body, appetites etc.) by suppressing desires; to practise abstinence on.
Some people seek sainthood by mortifying the body.
- 2
To injure the dignity of; to embarrass; to humiliate.
I was so mortified I could have died right there; instead I fainted, but I swore I'd never let that happen to me again.
- 3
obsoleteTo kill.
- 4
obsoleteTo reduce the potency of; to nullify; to deaden, neutralize.
- 5
To affect with vexation or chagrin.
He seemed to enjoy mortifying them with news of every fresh hell loosed in the capital.
- 6
To scare.
Near-synonym: petrify
- 7
obsoleteTo humble; to depress.
- 8
To grant in mortmain.
the schoolmasters of Ayr were paid out of the mills mortified by Queen Mary
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mortify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mortify come from?
From Anglo-Norman mortifier, Middle French mortifier, from Late Latin mortificō (“cause death”), from Latin mors (“death”) + -ficō (“-fy”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).