humiliate
Americanverb (used with object)
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humiliates,
present (3rd person singular)
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humiliated,
past participle, past
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humiliating
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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humiliationnoun
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humiliatornoun
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rehumiliateverb (used with object)
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humiliatedadjective
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humiliatingadjective
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humiliativeadjective
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humiliatoryadjective
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humiliatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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humiliatesimple
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humiliatessimple
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have humiliatedperfect
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has humiliatedperfect
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am humiliatingprogressive
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are humiliatingprogressive
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is humiliatingprogressive
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have been humiliatingperfect progressive
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has been humiliatingperfect progressive
Past
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humiliatedsimple
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had humiliatedperfect
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was humiliatingprogressive
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were humiliatingprogressive
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had been humiliatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of humiliate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Late Latin humiliātus (past participle of humiliāre “to humble”), equivalent to Latin humili(s) humble + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Humiliate means to make someone feel ashamed or stupid, often publicly. It would humiliate all but the most self-assured person to realize that everyone else in the room has noticed their fly is down. For many, the experience of high school seems designed to humiliate teens––under the microscope of public scrutiny that is the high school community, every break up, every bad-hair day, every forgotten homework assignment humiliates kids in ways adults rarely understand.
Vocabulary lists containing humiliate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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Words for the High School Graduate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After the embarrassment of 2018, they simply couldn’t humiliate themselves on home soil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Northampton scored 14 tries to humiliate Bristol at Franklin's Gardens and confirm their place in the Prem semi-finals.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
I have very mixed feelings about it, because I’m extremely grateful that I’ve made a living and haven’t had to humiliate myself too much in order to do it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
"By insisting on retraction China is trying to humiliate her and turning up the heat on the controversy," Kingston said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
The NSA insisted—then and always—that the raid was merely a routine matter, but Elizebeth and William believed it had been intended to humiliate and intimidate.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Critics say Philips doesn't just challenge those beliefs - he humiliates the people who hold them.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
What did you bring to the scene where Glinda humiliates Elphaba, giving her that “hideodeous” black hat that she wears to the ball?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024
The league says its operations manual strictly prohibits bullying and hazing, which is defined as behavior that “harms, intimidates, offends, degrades, threatens, or humiliates another person or creates a risk to their health or safety.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2023
Dream wins and humiliates the Lord of Hell, after which she swears revenge.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2022
But a cramp, he thought of it as a calambre, humiliates oneself especially when one is alone.
From "The Old Man and The Sea" by Ernest Hemingway
Niederhoffer was devastated and humiliated, but he kept looking for patterns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
A man with osteoarthritis and learning difficulties has said he feels "humiliated" after being told he cannot take his new mobility scooter on Translink's train services because it has been deemed to be too big.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
She must also have been embarrassed and possibly humiliated by her employer behaving like this behind her back.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
In March 2024, Benfica had just been humiliated 5-0 by rivals Porto.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Citra felt both relieved and humiliated at once.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
"But at the same time, I was very upset and my heart was broken when I saw my son looking like that. It was humiliating."
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The first post called Holmes “a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Before the humiliating collapse, Aschenbrenner’s fund had shown phenomenal returns of more than 1000% since its inception in 2024.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Six months later, he inflicted a humiliating defeat with a lightning counter-offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Only a week earlier he had found himself in the humiliating position of having to ride in a wheelchair through Union Station in Washington, D.C., the station he had designed.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
