mortified /ˈmɔːr.tɪ.faɪd/ adj.
感到极度尴尬的、羞愧难当的。形容因某件事感到非常难为情,恨不得找个地缝钻进去。
/ˈmɔːr.tɪ.faɪd/
I was mortified when I called my teacher "Mom" in front of the whole class.
当我在全班同学面前叫老师"妈妈"时,我尴尬得无地自容。
She was absolutely mortified to discover that she had been walking around the office all morning with her shirt inside out, and no one had bothered to tell her.
她发现自己整个上午都穿反了衬衫在办公室走来走去,而没有人告诉她,她感到羞愧至极。
mortified 来自拉丁语 mortificare,由 mors(死亡)和 facere(做、使)组成,字面意思是"使死亡"。在中世纪英语中,这个词最初用于宗教语境,指通过禁欲和苦行来"克制肉体的欲望",即让身体的欲望"死去"。后来词义逐渐演变,到了现代英语中,主要表示"感到极度羞愧",仿佛尴尬到"恨不得去死"。这个词义的转变生动地反映了从宗教苦修到世俗情感表达的语言演化过程。