mortified

/ˈmɔː.tɪ.faɪd/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmɔːr.t̬ə.faɪd/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmȯr-tə-ˌfīd/ (ame, mw)

mortified — adjective

  • mortifiedpositive
  • more mortifiedcomparative
  • most mortifiedsuperlative

1. so ashamed or self-conscious about something you said, did, or were caught doing

1.形容詞C1
釋義

so ashamed or self-conscious about something you said, did, or were caught doing that you wish you could disappear — for example, realizing mid-meeting that everyone heard your stomach growl, or finding out your mother told your boss an embarrassing childhood story.

例句

Vikram was absolutely mortified when his phone rang loudly during the funeral service.

be mortified when + clause for a specific embarrassing moment

Lucía felt mortified after calling her new teacher 'Mom' in class.

feel + mortified for the inner emotional response

同義詞
  • embarrassed

    weaker; everyday level of discomfort, not the wish-to-disappear intensity of 'mortified'

  • humiliated

    implies someone else actively shamed you, often in public; 'mortified' can be entirely self-inflicted

  • ashamed

    moral guilt about what you did; 'mortified' is social and about being seen, not necessarily about wrongdoing

反義詞
  • proud

    comfortable and pleased about how you appear to others

  • unfazed

    untroubled by the same social slip that would mortify someone else

文法句型

be mortified

mortified by + noun

mortified when + clause

mortified that + clause

用法筆記

Stronger than 'embarrassed' — implies the speaker wishes the moment had not happened or that no one had witnessed it. Commonly intensified with 'absolutely', 'completely', or 'totally'. Often follows a linking verb ('be', 'feel', 'look') rather than appearing before a noun.

常見錯誤

❌I was mortified for the test result.
✅I was disappointed by the test result.
💡'mortified' is about social embarrassment in front of others, not about being upset by an outcome.
❌She is a mortified woman.
✅She was mortified by the comment.
💡'mortified' is rarely used attributively before a noun; use it after 'be', 'feel', or 'look'.