Standard Lemma guide

humiliation

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: HH Y UW0 M IH2 L IY0 EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

depriving one of self-esteem

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abasement

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: degradation, debasement

Narrower terms: comedown

4

noun

Meaning 4

an instance in which you are caused to lose your prestige or self-respect

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he had to undergo one humiliation after another

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mortification

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: case, instance, example

5

noun

Meaning 5

strong feelings of embarrassment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chagrin, mortification

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: embarrassment

6

noun

Meaning 6

state of disgrace or loss of self-respect

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: shame, disgrace, ignominy

Narrower terms: abasement, degradation, abjection

History

Etymology

From Middle French humiliation, from Late Latin humiliātiō, from humiliāre (“to humiliate”); see humiliate. Equivalent to humiliate + -ion.

Across languages

Translations

133 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: poshtërim — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Arabic: إِذْلَال (ʔiḏlāl) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Arabic: ذِلَّة (ḏilla) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Armenian: ստորացում (storacʻum) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Armenian: նվաստացում (nvastacʻum) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Azerbaijani: alçaltma — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Azerbaijani: təhqir — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Belarusian: прыніжэ́нне (prynižénnje) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Belarusian: прыніжэ́ньне (prynižénʹnje) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Bulgarian: униже́ние (unižénie) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Catalan: humiliació — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Chinese Mandarin: 羞辱 (xiūrǔ) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Chinese Mandarin: 恥辱 /耻辱 (chǐrǔ) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Chinese Mandarin: 屈辱 (qūrǔ) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Chinese Mandarin: 污辱 (wūrǔ) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Czech: ponížení — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Danish: ydmygelse — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Dutch: vernedering — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Esperanto: humiligo — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Estonian: alandus — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Finnish: nöyryytys — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Finnish: nolaus — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Finnish: nöyryyttäminen — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • French: humiliation — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Galician: humillación — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Georgian: დამცირება (damcireba) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • German: Demütigung — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • German: Erniedrigung — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Greek: ταπείνωση (tapeínosi) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Hebrew: הַשׁפָּלָה (hashpalá) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Hindi: निरादर (nirādar) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Hindi: अपमान (apmān) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Hungarian: megalázás — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Hungarian: megaláztatás — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Icelandic: niðurlæging — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Icelandic: auðmýking — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Icelandic: lítillækkun — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Indonesian: penghinaan — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Irish: náiriú — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Irish: uirísliú — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Italian: umiliazione — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Japanese: 恥 (haji) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Japanese: 恥辱 (chijoku) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Kazakh: кемсіту (kemsıtu) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Kazakh: кеміту (kemıtu) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Kazakh: қорлау (qorlau) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Khmer: ការអាម៉ាស់មុខ (kaa ʼaamah muk) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Khmer: ការបញ្ចុះ (kaa bɑɑbɑñcoh) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Korean: 치욕 (chiyok) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Kyrgyz: кемситүү (kemsitüü) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Kyrgyz: кемсинтүү (kemsintüü) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Kyrgyz: кемитүү (kemitüü) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Kyrgyz: кордоо (kordoo) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Kyrgyz: басынтуу (basıntuu) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Latvian: pazemojums — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Lithuanian: pažeminimas — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Macedonian: понижување (ponižuvanje) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ydmykelse — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: audmjuking — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Occitan: umiliacion — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Oromo: salphina — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Dari: تَحْقِیر (tahqīr) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Dari: ذِلَّت (zillat) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Iranian Persian: تَحْقیر (tahġir) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Iranian Persian: ذِلَّت (zellat) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Polish: upokorzenie — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Polish: poniżenie — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Portuguese: humilhação — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Romanian: umilire — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Romanian: înjosire — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Romanian: rușine — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Russian: униже́ние (unižénije) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Serbo-Croatian: понижавање — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Serbo-Croatian: ponižavanje — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Slovak: poníženie — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Slovene: ponižanje — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Spanish: humillación — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Spanish: papeada — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Swedish: förödmjukelse — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Tagalog: pag-ayop — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Tajik: таҳқир (tahqir) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Tajik: зиллат (zillat) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Thai: การฉีกหน้า (gaan-chìik-nâa) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Turkish: aşağılama — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Turkish: küçük düşürme — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Ukrainian: прини́ження (prynýžennja) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Urdu: بے عِزَّتِی (be 'izzatī) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Urdu: تَذْلِیل (tazlīl) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Urdu: تَحْقِیر (tahqīr) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Urdu: ذِلَّت (zillat) — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Uzbek: kamsitish — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Uzbek: xoʻrlash — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Uzbek: tahqir — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Uzbek: zillat — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Vietnamese: sự hạ thấp — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Vietnamese: sự làm nhục — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Volapük: mükükam — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Zazaki: şıkınaynen — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Zazaki: xeder kerden — the act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification
  • Belarusian: прыніжэ́нне (prynižénnje) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Belarusian: прыніжэ́ньне (prynižénʹnje) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Bulgarian: униже́ние (unižénie) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Catalan: humiliació — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Czech: ponížení — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Danish: ydmygelse — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Dutch: vernedering — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Esperanto: humiligo — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Finnish: nöyryytys — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • French: humiliation — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Georgian: დამცირება (damcireba) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • German: Demütigung — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • German: Erniedrigung — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Ancient Greek: ταπείνωσις (tapeínōsis) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Hindi: अपमानित (apmānit) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Indonesian: penghinaan — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Irish: bochtaineacht — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Italian: umiliazione — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Italian: smacco — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Japanese: 屈辱 (kutsujoku) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Japanese: 汚辱 (ojoku) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Korean: 굴욕 (guryok) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Korean: 오욕 (oyok) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ydmykelse — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: audmjuking — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Polish: upokorzenie — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Portuguese: humilhação — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Russian: униже́ние (unižénije) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Serbo-Croatian: понижавање — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Serbo-Croatian: ponižavanje — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Spanish: humillación — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Swedish: förödmjukelse — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Ukrainian: прини́ження (prynýžennja) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
  • Urdu: زَک (zak) — the state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission
Real reading context

humiliation in complete knowledge articles