ENGLISH
REFERENCE

humiliate

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //hjuˈmɪɫiˌeɪt// UK //hjuːmˈɪlɪˌeɪt// hu·mil·i·ate

v. to make someone feel very ashamed or foolish, especially in front of other people. You do this when you hurt someone's pride or dignity.

v. to cause a painful loss of pride, self-respect, or dignity. Transitive — requires a direct object, typically a person or a group.


SIMPLE

The team's heavy loss will humiliate the players.

CONTEXTUAL

The coach did not want to humiliate the rookie by shouting at him in front of the fans.

COMPLEX

The underdog team managed to humiliate the reigning champions with a decisive victory that exposed the older players' lack of preparation.

Synonyms
Origin

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.

Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object. It is often used in the passive voice ('to be humiliated').

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