mortify

In a sequence that would mortify anyone averse to audience participation, he gently beseeches a handful of patrons to stand with their hands up and foreheads against the wall, like a row of perpetrators.

From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2024

That it seems a choice at all is what should mortify us.

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024

A few years after I sent the quarterback the audio recording, a friend who lived in his dorm told me that he’d played it aloud for his buddies in an effort to mortify me.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2024

“Don’t take advantage of your own position and role to mortify the other.”

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2022

Women who had lost their children drifted over little by little, to mortify themselves with possibilities and never-would-bes.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Yet even as the siblings lose their sophistication and their self-control to a degree that mortifies their loved ones, Mr. Kolker sees more than tragedy in his subjects’ second selves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

“The idea that I’d go out with a recent widower just mortifies me,” Carolyn told THR.

From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2023

It said the spread of English "demeans and mortifies" Italian and proposed that all public and private bodies had to use the language of Dante to promote their goods and services.

From Reuters ● Mar. 31, 2023

Being stalked by an invisible enemy surely mortifies those with an obsessive-compulsive fear of germs, and deepens the distress of many who have experienced waves of uncontrollable anxiety before the epidemic.

From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2020

I ought to have read more, for I find I don’t know anything, and it mortifies me.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Florence Portelli, the mayor of Taverny, a Paris suburb, was mortified by the call for self-defense.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

After spending years campaigning for climate action, the paper describes Goulding's move as "eco hypocrisy", although it quotes the singer who says "I am mortified to have made this error in judgement".

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

With only two minutes for the family to talk, Seyfried suddenly seems mortified to be intruding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Paul said he was "mortified" and, while understanding the need to keep everyone safe, felt there was a lack of "dignity, compassion and empathy".

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Wab was mortified, holding her hand over her mouth.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

A child interrupting a meeting became, depending on the meeting, either completely understandable or still mortifying.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Imagine how mortifying it would be if anyone ever read your diary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026

You should, and when you win, I’m sure your acceptance speech will be somewhat mortifying for your kids, so two wins.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026

It might have happened 25 years ago - but Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page says she is still reeling from a "mortifying" moment on a film set with Johnny Depp.

From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026

There’s just something kind of mortifying to me about the intensity of those feelings.

From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli