humiliate

verb

hu·​mil·​i·​ate hyü-ˈmi-lē-ˌāt How to pronounce humiliate (audio)
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 noun

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 Vergennes shared Franklin’s desire to humiliate Britain, France’s longtime rival for supremacy in Europe. Vanessa Armstrong, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024 Although there appear to have been some genuine disagreements about the documents prepared for the meeting, the three smaller Churches have close ties with Moscow, and the Russian move came off as yet another effort to humiliate Bartholomew. Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024 In fact, the quagmire in the Middle East presents an opportunity for a breakthrough in a four-decade strategy by Tehran to debilitate one of its foremost regional adversaries, Israel—and to humiliate the United States and drastically diminish its influence in the region. Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024 The attempt to humiliate and terrorize these innocent young BLACK MEN is despicable! S. Dev, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2024 That everyone on the team stays healthy enough to repeatedly bludgeon and humiliate the competition all summer. Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 27 Mar. 2024 The same man who once counseled Europe to avoid humiliating Russia is now giving numerous interviews on why Russia’s unconditional defeat is paramount. Daniel Depetris, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024 In the film’s terrifying climax, Carrie is humiliated at a high school dance when nasty classmate Chris (Nancy Allen) douses her with a bucket of a pig's blood just as she’s crowned prom queen. Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024 But while many nationalist users cheered Wu on, others came to Mo’s defense likening the attack to the specter of Mao’s tumultuous Cultural Revolution, when intellectuals and artists were denounced, publicly humiliated and beaten by young Red Guards. Nectar Gan, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'humiliate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of humiliate was circa 1534

Dictionary Entries Near humiliate

Cite this Entry

“Humiliate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humiliate. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

humiliate

verb
hu·​mil·​i·​ate hyü-ˈmil-ē-ˌāt How to pronounce humiliate (audio)
yü-
humiliated; humiliating
: to cause a loss of pride or self-respect : humble
humiliation 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.

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