Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Mortify

Mor′ti·fy (·fī), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mortified; p. pr. & vb. n. Mortifying.] [OE. mortifien, F. mortifier, fr. L. mortificare; L. mors, mortis, death + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Mortal, and -fy.] 1. To destroy the organic texture and vital functions of; to produce gangrene in.

2. To destroy the active powers or essential qualities of; to change by chemical action. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Quicksilver is mortified with turpentine. Bacon.

He mortified pearls in vinegar. Hakewill.

3. To deaden by religious or other discipline, as the carnal affections, bodily appetites, or worldly desires; to bring into subjection; to abase; to humble.

With fasting mortified, worn out with tears. Harte.

Mortify thy learned lust. Prior.

Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth. Col. iii. 5.

4. To affect with vexation, chagrin, or humiliation; to humble; to depress.

The news of the fatal battle of Worcester, which exceedingly mortified our expectations. Evelyn.

How often is the ambitious man mortified with the very praises he receives, if they do not rise so high as he thinks they ought! Addison.

Mor′ti·fy, v. i. 1. To lose vitality and organic structure, as flesh of a living body; to gangrene.

2. To practice penance from religious motives; to deaden desires by religious discipline.

This makes him . . . give alms of all that he hath, watch, fast, and mortify. Law.

3. To be subdued; to decay, as appetites, desires, etc.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.