| Chagrin | n. [ F., fr. chagrin shagreen, a particular kind of rough and grained leather; also a rough fishskin used for graters and files; hence (Fig.), a gnawing, corroding grief. See Shagreen. ] Vexation; mortification. [ 1913 Webster ] I must own that I felt rather vexation and chagrin than hope and satisfaction. Richard Porson. [ 1913 Webster ] Hear me, and touch Belinda with chagrin. Pope. Syn. -- Vexation; mortification; peevishness; fretfulness; disgust; disquiet. Chagrin, Vexation, Mortification. These words agree in the general sense of pain produced by untoward circumstances. Vexation is a feeling of disquietude or irritating uneasiness from numerous causes, such as losses, disappointments, etc. Mortification is a stronger word, and denotes that keen sense of pain which results from wounded pride or humiliating occurrences. Chagrin is literally the cutting pain produced by the friction of Shagreen leather; in its figurative sense, it varies in meaning, denoting in its lower degrees simply a state of vexation, and its higher degrees the keenest sense of mortification. “Vexation arises chiefly from our wishes and views being crossed: mortification, from our self-importance being hurt; chagrin, from a mixture of the two.” Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ] |