Words / B2

hyoo-MIL-ee-ayt/hjuːˈmɪlieɪt/

To humiliate is to make someone feel ashamed or foolish, especially in front of others: humiliate a witness; a humiliating defeat. Embarrass is milder; shame and degrade are close twins. Do not humiliate a witness in the role-play; the paper still wants the statute named. Mix-up: humidity; humanity. Do not write humiliate for a private, kind correction with no audience.

Meaning

To make someone feel ashamed or foolish, especially in front of others.

Examples

• “Do not humiliate a witness in the role-play; the citizenship paper still wants the statute named.”
• “A humiliating defeat still needs the score, which is the public-shame sense.”

Good to know

humiliate + person; a humiliating + noun; humiliation. Milder: embarrass. Close: shame / degrade. Trap: humidity. Citizenship, news, and literature. Public shame, not a quiet word.

Near in meaning

embarrass, shame, degrade

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