humiliating

[hyoo-mil-ee-ey-ting, yoo-]

adjective

1. lowering the pride, self-respect, or dignity of a person; mortifying.

   Such a humiliating defeat was good for his overblown ego.

Other Word Forms

• humiliatingly adverb
• self-humiliating adjective
• unhumiliating adjective
• unhumiliatingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of humiliating¹

First recorded in 1750–60; humiliat(e) + -ing ²

Example Sentences

We all have a constitutional right to free speech, but society also has moral codes against humiliating and degrading others.

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“Suspending the pension reform would be a humiliating concession for Macron,” said Mujtaba Rahman, head of Europe for risk consulting firm Eurasia.

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Begging to work is a humiliating, not to mention deeply unnatural, state.

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Nine Swiss nationals who returned to Geneva on Sunday also complained about what they called the "inhumane detention conditions and the humiliating and degrading treatment", Reuters news agency cited a statement as saying.

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"It's scary. It's humiliating when the freedom is taken away from you," he recalls.

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Related Words

• demeaning 
• embarrassing www.thesaurus.com
• humbling