# humiliate

/hjuˈmɪɫiˌeɪt/ (US) · /hjuːmˈɪlɪˌeɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/humiliate
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. to shame someone

verb · CEFR B2

to make someone feel ashamed or stupid, often by pointing out their mistakes in public.

For teachers: to injure the dignity and self-respect of another person, typically by public exposure of a perceived flaw or failure.

- He didn't mean to humiliate her by correcting her grammar in front of the whole class.
- The manager's decision to reprimand the employee in the middle of the open-plan office served only to humiliate him and damage team morale.

Usage: This is a transitive verb that requires a direct object, usually a person or a group.

### 2. to defeat easily

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

to beat an opponent by a very large score so they feel embarrassed.

For teachers: to defeat an opponent overwhelmingly or decisively in a competitive setting.

- The home team humiliated their rivals with a final score of seven to zero.
- The defending champions were humiliated in the opening round, suffering a loss so total that analysts questioned their future viability.

Usage: Commonly used in sports journalism to describe a one-sided victory.

## Examples

- The team's heavy loss will humiliate the players.
- The coach did not want to humiliate the rookie by shouting at him in front of the fans.
- The underdog team managed to humiliate the reigning champions with a decisive victory that exposed the older players' lack of preparation.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.