as in humiliating
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as in humiliation
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as in discrediting
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 humbling
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
Those listeners are the ones who are our backbone, which is very humbling.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 17 Oct. 2025
This sub is routinely very humbling.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Nick Foligno couldn’t help but think of his late mother, Janis, upon being traded to Minnesota on Friday to team up with his brother, Marcus, calling it a humbling move.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
So your last humbling experiences today, just like lack of Gore-Tex, and also a warm, cozy home.
—Outside Online, 4 Mar. 2026
That was a very humbling experience.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
There is a strange and humbling symmetry in that.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Goodbye Amazon Go Amazon is abandoning its homegrown physical grocery stores, known as Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh, a humbling end to an effort that began almost ten years ago as the online giant sought to expand its retail dominance into the brick-and-mortar world.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
Season 3 was at once a humbling and harrowing journey for Mark.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
The response has been amazing, overwhelming and humbling.
—Brad Quick, CNBC, 12 Jan. 2026
Betsy Andrews, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2026
Retiring after the humbling 40-22 Super Bowl loss to the Eagles last year would have been no way to end such an illustrious career.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
There’s nothing quite as humbling as crouching next to a random airport outlet.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2026
That was super humbling, just to be a part of that.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
The response from our guests has been incredibly humbling.
—Olivia Young, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026
However, as if to offer humbling evidence of the fickle nature of pop stardom, the Elvis Presley movie actually earned less last weekend than another concert documentary, featuring an act that has sold millions of albums but is hardly a household name.
—John Beifuss, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 2 Mar. 2026
The latter was especially humbling, considering the Nittany Lions had only won a trio of Big Ten games heading into the contest.
—Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 28 Feb. 2026
However humbling it may have been to take the group out for a series of surprise lunchtime shows on college campuses, rather than heading straight to stadiums, the venture was naturally complicated by his enormous celebrity.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
Being on an island starving is very humbling.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
Those listeners are the ones who are our backbone, which is very humbling.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 17 Oct. 2025
This sub is routinely very humbling.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
Noun
No repeat of Chelsea’s previous humbling in the competition at the hands of Phil Parkinson.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Nick Foligno couldn’t help but think of his late mother, Janis, upon being traded to Minnesota on Friday to team up with his brother, Marcus, calling it a humbling move.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
So your last humbling experiences today, just like lack of Gore-Tex, and also a warm, cozy home.
—Outside Online, 4 Mar. 2026
That was a very humbling experience.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
There is a strange and humbling symmetry in that.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Goodbye Amazon Go Amazon is abandoning its homegrown physical grocery stores, known as Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh, a humbling end to an effort that began almost ten years ago as the online giant sought to expand its retail dominance into the brick-and-mortar world.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
Season 3 was at once a humbling and harrowing journey for Mark.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
The response has been amazing, overwhelming and humbling.
—Brad Quick, CNBC, 12 Jan. 2026
Verb
Nature on the island is humbling.
—Betsy Andrews, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2026
Retiring after the humbling 40-22 Super Bowl loss to the Eagles last year would have been no way to end such an illustrious career.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
There’s nothing quite as humbling as crouching next to a random airport outlet.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2026
That was super humbling, just to be a part of that.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
The response from our guests has been incredibly humbling.
—Olivia Young, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026
However, as if to offer humbling evidence of the fickle nature of pop stardom, the Elvis Presley movie actually earned less last weekend than another concert documentary, featuring an act that has sold millions of albums but is hardly a household name.
—John Beifuss, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 2 Mar. 2026
The latter was especially humbling, considering the Nittany Lions had only won a trio of Big Ten games heading into the contest.
—Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 28 Feb. 2026
However humbling it may have been to take the group out for a series of surprise lunchtime shows on college campuses, rather than heading straight to stadiums, the venture was naturally complicated by his enormous celebrity.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 25 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humbling
Adjective
-
Iran’s first act of war against us was the 1979 seizure of the embassy in Tehran and the humiliating 444-day captivity of American diplomats.—
Elan Journo,
Oc Register,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Suddenly the most humiliating gap in their reading repertoire is the winning ticket.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Sure, Profar has to deal with the humiliation of being caught and the bad publicity that comes with it.—
Brittany Ghiroli,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
On the flip side, deviating from perfection—not landing the lead in a school play or getting hormonal acne—registers as a personal humiliation rather than an inevitable part of growing up and being human.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Henry’s wife Yasmin (Marisa Abela) ultimately convinces Hayley to accuse Dycker of assault, discrediting his story about Tender, and weaponizing #MeToo-era politics.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Supporters of Pahlavi were particularly vocal in Mashhad this month, as attested by the prevalence of pro-monarchy graffiti on city walls, and the regime’s propaganda devoted particular attention to discrediting the former crown prince.—
Davood Moradian,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The play unfolds as a series of battles, where the unaccomplished George and the bitterly disappointed Martha exchange vicious and demeaning insults, using Nick and Honey as the unsuspecting pawns in their war for supremacy.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Jonathan was even reprimanded more than once for his name-calling and demeaning attitude towards Ana.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Your historical victory is your reward for your historical abasement.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
These are embarrassing own goals that Republicans simply can’t afford.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Fairchild played the free-wheeling bon vivant Nora Tyler Bing on five episodes of the sitcom classic, unwittingly embarrassing Perry's Chandler Bing to the delight of his pals.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Former detainees and human rights organizations have documented systematic torture and severe abuses inside the facility, including beatings, electric shocks, suspension by limbs, prolonged stress positions and other degrading treatment.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Currently the funds spent by governments and the private sector on destroying biodiversty and degrading cosystems like forests and seagrasses are 30 times larger than the flows supporting conservation, restoration and protection of the natural world.—
Nick Nuttall,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
If Wyatt and Surrey could pen brilliant sonnets under Tudor tyranny, then certainly great art can be produced under capitalism despite its particular degradations.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Major degradation to their ability to produce the ballistic missiles that have been striking so many of their Gulf neighbors, Israel and elsewhere.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humbling. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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