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mortification of the flesh

Definition

punishment of yourself, especially by hitting your body with a whip: I don't really want to spend the weekend working, but as they say, a little mortification of the flesh is good for the soul.Punishing by causing painHitting and beatingPunishing and punishmentsReligious practices
(Definition of mortification of the flesh from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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