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
Twomey: Expect a feisty London derby with shades of real animosity, particularly after the way Chelsea humiliated Spurs in December.
—
Liam Twomey, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
Many in Prince’s inner circle — not to mention Prince himself — believed that Jackson had intentionally brought him onstage to humiliate him.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 15 Mar. 2025
There was a period when Broadway creators thought the only way to get a performance was to humiliate a person.
—Mark Seliger, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
An investigation of at least eight fraternities found that members humiliated students through means like beating them with paddles or forcing potential recruits to eat live fish and drink urine, according to court filings.
—Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humiliate
Liam Twomey, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
Many in Prince’s inner circle — not to mention Prince himself — believed that Jackson had intentionally brought him onstage to humiliate him.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 15 Mar. 2025
There was a period when Broadway creators thought the only way to get a performance was to humiliate a person.
—Mark Seliger, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
An investigation of at least eight fraternities found that members humiliated students through means like beating them with paddles or forcing potential recruits to eat live fish and drink urine, according to court filings.
—Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humiliate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humiliate
Verb
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Biden’s actions continue to discredit the legitimacy of our judicial system.—
Carl Burdette,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Apr. 2025
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The current page suggests this paper's explicit intention was to discredit the lab leak theory and remove any doubt that the origins were of natural origin.—
Youri Benadjaoud,
ABC News,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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O’Neil had shown a more ruthless streak in dealing with Lemina, stripping the midfielder of the captaincy after those embarrassing post-match scenes at West Ham.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
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Punk proceeded to beatdown and embarrass McIntyre, leading to Priest cashing in his Money in the Bank contract and winning the title from McIntyre.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Yields usually fall when fear is dominating markets, but their surprising earlier rise stirred fears that Trump’s trade war was degrading the U.S. bond market’s status as one of the world’s safest places to keep cash.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
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Unlike many other archaeological sites in Sweden, where acidic soil degrades organic material, Strandvägen’s conditions have allowed organic material to survive for many years, as Gummesson tells the publication.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Humiliate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humiliate. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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