noun
humiliation
hyoo-mih-lee-AY-shuhn
noun
1
The act of making someone feel ashamed or beneath others.
"The public humiliation of the losing team was hard to watch."
"Being fired in front of coworkers added humiliation to the loss of his job."
2
The feeling or state of being humiliated.
"She felt a wave of humiliation as everyone stared."
How to Use Humiliation
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe shame or embarrassment of being put down or made to feel small.
Common pairings
public humiliation
a sense of humiliation
suffer humiliation
Word Forms
humiliations plural
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “humiliation”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The public _____ of the losing team was hard to watch.
Etymology
From Middle French humiliation, tracing back to Latin humiliare, "to humiliate" — ultimately from humilis, "low" (the same root as humble).