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 of humiliate

• discredit
• embarrass
• degrade

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

Only the United States was humiliated; both countries have experienced a catastrophic loss. —Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 18 June 2026

However, they were then humiliated 2-1, after extra time, by second division side Torreense in the final. —Liam Twomey, New York Times, 17 June 2026

Bryan’s stumbling responses, under questioning from the legendary defense lawyer Clarence Darrow, left him humiliated. —Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 June 2026

Diomande just humiliates fullbacks. —Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 12 June 2026

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

Rhymes for humiliate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

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.