Mortification
“Mortification” 有两个主要的含义。在情感上,它指极度的羞愧和尴尬(通常因为尊严受损);在医学上,它指身体组织的一部分死亡(坏疽)。此外,它也可以指通过自我克制来压抑欲望。
- “To her intense mortification, she realized she had been singing out of tune the whole time.” (令她极度尴尬的是,她发现自己一直都在跑调。)
- “He suffered great mortification when his secret was revealed to everyone.” (当他的秘密被揭穿时,他感到极大的羞辱。)
- “The doctor found signs of mortification in the patient’s infected wound.” (医生在病人的感染伤口中发现了组织坏死的迹象。)
源自拉丁语 “mortificare”,由 “mors” (死亡) 和 “facere” (使…) 组成。原意为“置于死地”。
- 词根: “mort-”,意为“死亡”。
- 后缀: “-ification”,名词后缀,表示“…化”或“行为”。
在宗教语境中,“mortification of the flesh” (苦行) 指通过禁食或肉体磨难来克制欲望、洁净灵魂的行为。
- 动词: mortify (使受辱;使组织坏死)
“mort” (死) + “ification” (状态)。联想:尴尬到想死,或者组织死掉了。
“Imagine the mortification of a chef who serves a burnt meal to a famous food critic. His face turned red, and he wanted the ground to swallow him up.” (想象一下一位主厨给著名的美食评论家端上一顿烧焦的饭时该有多么羞愧。他的脸变得通红,恨不得找个地缝钻进去。)