as in humiliated
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
Philip was utterly humbled by a crushing defeat in the first round of the state chess tournament
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Recent Examples of humbled
But while Tom may start off exasperated and depressed, he’s soon humbled and invigorated to hilarious extremes.
—
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 29 Apr. 2026
Consequently, reactions to being selected on Day 3 range from anger to feeling blessed to being humbled to being motivated to be better.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026
Far from being humbled, Kirby doubled down publicly.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026
Everybody gets humbled in the playoffs at some point.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
The offensive had weapons and the defense boasted two fang-bearing edge rushers and a No Fly Zone secondary that humbled All-Pros, MVPs and journeymen without remorse.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2026
Biolos said he’s honored and humbled to be recognized by SIMA and share the night with the other honorees.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026
Meantime, what Michigan has done lately - cruised on a murderous March march that humbled Arizona into submission into the national semifinal - does matter.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2026
Michigan overpowered Arizona early and humbled the Wildcats all night long, turning the Final Four meeting billed as the Game of the Year into a 91-73 Wolverines highlight reel Saturday night.
—CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 29 Apr. 2026
Consequently, reactions to being selected on Day 3 range from anger to feeling blessed to being humbled to being motivated to be better.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026
Far from being humbled, Kirby doubled down publicly.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026
Everybody gets humbled in the playoffs at some point.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
The offensive had weapons and the defense boasted two fang-bearing edge rushers and a No Fly Zone secondary that humbled All-Pros, MVPs and journeymen without remorse.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2026
Biolos said he’s honored and humbled to be recognized by SIMA and share the night with the other honorees.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026
Meantime, what Michigan has done lately - cruised on a murderous March march that humbled Arizona into submission into the national semifinal - does matter.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2026
Michigan overpowered Arizona early and humbled the Wildcats all night long, turning the Final Four meeting billed as the Game of the Year into a 91-73 Wolverines highlight reel Saturday night.
—CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humbled
Verb
-
This Mets team, with the second-highest MLB payroll at $369 million, had just been humiliated by a franchise that lost 119 games a year ago.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
-
One such accusation resulted in a federal lawsuit filed in September in which the former head of the Colorado Division for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind alleged DHS management humiliated and discriminated against him before forcing him out of his job.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The case later drew attention from the Innocence Project, which said advances in DNA testing ultimately discredited the prosecution’s core forensic evidence.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
-
But whereas leftist thinkers starting with Marx saw the liberal ideal as totally discredited, a mere camouflage for capitalist power, Habermas kept faith with the utopian potential of liberalism.—
Adam Kirsch,
The Atlantic,
3 May 2026
Verb
-
That this series has flipped on its head seemed almost impossible last Sunday, when the Celtics embarrassed Philadelphia in a Game 4 win on the Sixers’ home floor.—
Tobias Bass,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
-
The Mets were embarrassed by the Washington Nationals in an 14-2 blowout to even up the series at one game apiece.—
James O'Connell,
New York Daily News,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humbled. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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