humiliate

verb

hu·​mil·​i·​ate hyü-ˈmi-lē-ˌāt 

yü-

humiliated; humiliating

transitive verb

: to reduce (someone) to a lower position in one's own eyes or others' eyes : to make (someone) ashamed or embarrassed : mortify

hoped they wouldn't humiliate themselves in their next game

accused her of humiliating him in public

feel so humiliated

humiliation

hyü-ˌmi-lē-ˈā-shən 

yü-

noun

Synonyms

• abase
• chasten
• cheapen
• debase
• degrade
• demean
• discredit
• disgrace
• dishonor
• foul
• humble
• lower
• shame
• sink
• smirch
• take down

Examples of humiliate in a Sentence

I hope I don't humiliate myself during the presentation.

He accused her of trying to humiliate him in public.

She was hurt and deeply humiliated by the lies he told about her.

Recent Examples on the Web

Then, last year, the 49ers humiliated Dallas by the score of 42-10 at home. —Vincent Frank, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

Shaking down Bodhi, killing some bikers, jokingly humiliating his ex-girlfriend on the witness stand — less than ideal, but nothing you’re not supposed to be able to live with. —Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024

The whipping-sound phone app was well known among students and became a tool of racial torment used to humiliate and degrade Black students during the 2022-2023 school year, the lawsuit alleges. —Ben Poston, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2024

Young people will sometimes add someone into a group chat and then post an embarrassing photo to humiliate the person. —Kara Alaimo, CNN, 25 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin humiliatus, past participle of humiliare, from Latin humilis low — more at humble

First Known Use

circa 1534, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

humiliate

verb

hu·​mil·​i·​ate hyü-ˈmil-ē-ˌāt 

yü-

humiliated; humiliating

: to cause a loss of pride or self-respect : humble

humiliation

-ˌmil-ē-ˈā-shən 

noun

Etymology

from Latin humiliatus "made to lose pride or self-respect," from earlier humiliare "to make low or humble," from humilis "low, humble," from humus "earth"

Word Origin

In modern English we sometimes say that a person who has been criticized or humiliated has been put down. We speak as though the person had actually been forced to the ground or made to bow down in front of someone else. The origins of the word humiliate itself also suggest the idea of physically putting someone down to the ground. Humiliate can be be traced back to the Latin humus, meaning "earth, ground." From humus came the Latin adjective humilis, meaning "low, humble," which later gave rise to the verb humiliare, meaning "to make low or humble." The English humiliate derives from Latin humiliare.