as in to discredit
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
the reigning tennis champ was humiliated on the court by a newcomer who defeated him in straight sets
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Recent Examples of humiliate
Canadians will voluntarily vote to become our 51st state just to save themselves the embarrassment of being further humiliated by American hockey teams.
—
Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 June 2025
According to Amy Edmonson, the Harvard professor and researcher who coined the term, psychological safety is the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.
—Esmt Berlin, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
And after Trump’s attempts to humiliate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, the lure of the White House is waning.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN Money, 31 May 2025
Simone Inzaghi really needs the win here — his Italian side finished one point behind Serie A champ Napoli and was humiliated by rival AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semifinal.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for humiliate
Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 June 2025
According to Amy Edmonson, the Harvard professor and researcher who coined the term, psychological safety is the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.
—Esmt Berlin, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
And after Trump’s attempts to humiliate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, the lure of the White House is waning.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN Money, 31 May 2025
Simone Inzaghi really needs the win here — his Italian side finished one point behind Serie A champ Napoli and was humiliated by rival AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semifinal.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for humiliate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humiliate
Verb
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Trump’s team is working furiously to keep the bill going on other fronts, too: seeking to discredit Congress’s nonpartisan scorekeeper while savaging Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for resisting the bill and its debt ceiling increase.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
6 June 2025
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The White House has sought to discredit the CBO, but other groups have also presented estimates that conclude that the legislation would expand the U.S. government deficit by trillions of dollars.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
4 June 2025
Verb
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The following program will contain graphic stupidity, as four friends compete to embarrass one another – only this time in Lithuania.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
9 June 2025
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Races are sometimes won by runners making a move from the back of the pack, and L.A. could still find its stride, show some pride, and avoid embarrassing itself.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2025
Verb
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Further, Israel’s previous attacks on Iran in April and October 2024 managed to degrade Iran’s ballistic and surface-to-air missiles and air defense radar systems.—
Javed Ali,
The Conversation,
13 June 2025
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Use of this material has been proposed in the past, but has been hampered by the fact that making CNTs involves metals, and the residue left behind ends up degrading electrical performance.—
Alex Knapp,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Humiliate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humiliate. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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