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
The Iranian regime has oppressed, humiliated, and murdered its people.
—
David Frum, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
Most casual fans could spend their entire lives studying a library’s worth of chess theory, only to still be routinely humiliated by competitive players.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 26 Feb. 2026
Fatme feels humiliated, but Toha is too busy plotting how to return from her rundown village near the Nile.
—Alissa Simon, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026
After years of public pressure, Moore relented and finally fired former Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi after DJS repeatedly humiliated the administration with embarrassing headlines.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humiliate
David Frum, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
Most casual fans could spend their entire lives studying a library’s worth of chess theory, only to still be routinely humiliated by competitive players.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 26 Feb. 2026
Fatme feels humiliated, but Toha is too busy plotting how to return from her rundown village near the Nile.
—Alissa Simon, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026
After years of public pressure, Moore relented and finally fired former Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi after DJS repeatedly humiliated the administration with embarrassing headlines.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humiliate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humiliate
Verb
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Election experts widely discredited the review as shoddy and partisan.—
Benjamin Swasey,
NPR,
9 Mar. 2026
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These accusations are coming from far-right and far-left accounts as well as anti-Israel groups, such as Students for Justice in Palestine, that are inclined to discredit Israel.—
Andrew Silow-Carroll,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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These are embarrassing own goals that Republicans simply can’t afford.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Mar. 2026
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Noah Silver, Boca Raton Americans may need a refresher on why Attorney General Pam Bondi continues to embarrass herself and her office.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been degraded during the American and Israeli war against it, but remains far from neutralized.—
Mike Brest,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Mar. 2026
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Conventional relay-lens setups often degrade beam quality or require precise positioning.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humiliate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humiliate. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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