Skip to content

humiliate

verb

  1. to embarrass severely, to humble thoroughly
L307291 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/

verb

Etymology: Borrowed from Late Latin humiliātus, perfect passive participle of humiliō (“to abase, humble”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin humilis (“lowly, humble”), from humus (“ground; earth, soil”); see humble.

  1. To cause to be ashamed; to injure the dignity and self-respect of.

    The bully tried to humiliate the other students during lunch.

    He would never intentionally humiliate anyone, even in jest.

  2. To make humble; to lower in condition or status.
  3. To defeat overwhelmingly.