humiliate
verb
hu·mil·i·ate
hyü-ˈmi-lē-ˌāt 
yü-
humiliated; humiliating
: 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
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
Coach Ruben Amorim publicly humiliated him before a loan move to Aston Villa for the final half of the campaign.
—
Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 20 July 2025
Caught in an undignified situation, humiliated by a hot, skinnier love interest, Jessica was the latest incarnation of the funny fat lady (who is never actually that fat, merely representative of the average American woman).
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 16 July 2025
Its strict people had inconvenienced my father, perhaps humiliated him.
—Jhumpa Lahiri, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Instead of turning him away from the party, these experiences seem to have led Xi to subscribe to a cause for which his father suffered so much and to seek to regain pride and legacy for a family that had been humiliated so many times.
—Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for humiliate
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Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 20 July 2025
Caught in an undignified situation, humiliated by a hot, skinnier love interest, Jessica was the latest incarnation of the funny fat lady (who is never actually that fat, merely representative of the average American woman).
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 16 July 2025
Its strict people had inconvenienced my father, perhaps humiliated him.
—Jhumpa Lahiri, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Instead of turning him away from the party, these experiences seem to have led Xi to subscribe to a cause for which his father suffered so much and to seek to regain pride and legacy for a family that had been humiliated so many times.
—Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for humiliate
Cite this Entry
“Humiliate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humiliate. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
humiliate
verb
hu·mil·i·ate
hyü-ˈmil-ē-ˌāt
yü-
humiliated; humiliating
: to cause a loss of pride or self-respect : humble
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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