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
At the time, Wallace said he was "deeply sorry for any distress" he caused, and that he "never set out to harm or humiliate".
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
And unlike some some prank shows, its intentions are good, its attitude humane — the entire purpose of the show is to bring out the best in its unsuspecting star, not to humiliate him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 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
When the Dutch ambassador tried to humiliate her by refusing her a seat, Nzinga had shown her power by ordering one of her advisers to all fours to make a human chair of her body.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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
“People already want to lean into believing something that humiliates or mocks or targets someone they dislike.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2023
My mother’s anger humiliates me; her words chafe my cheeks, and I am crying.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
The Kushners, paragons of their community, were humiliated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
"I felt disheartened, I felt humiliated in so many ways," he said.
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
She added her daughter would have been "absolutely humiliated beyond belief" when coach Morgan called Riglar "Mrs Cusack" in front of their teammates, because she wanted to keep her relationship private.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Instantly, he felt humiliated for saying that—how nerdy could he be?
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
In the aftermath of the Rams’ humiliating season-opening defeat in Australia, the team’s defense is dominating the news cycle: edge rusher Myles Garrett’s knee surgery, lineman Aaron Donald’s potential season debut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Many Jews, Ms. Horn explains, have felt pressured to make non-Jews comfortable about their presence “through self-deprecating and ultimately humiliating public displays in popular culture,” which often play up stereotypes in Jewish humor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
"I would spend my days walking across the CIA compound to the...unisex or family bathroom, which I could use, and it was humiliating having to do that," she described.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
"It was dehumanising, it was humiliating," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Petey didn’t want to think about that party, didn’t want to think about the crickets, didn’t want that humiliating night spilling over, tainting this one or any other.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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.
