humiliation

From Middle French humiliation, from Late Latin humiliatio, from humiliare (“to humiliate”); see humiliate.

• IPA^(key): /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

humiliation (countable and uncountable, plural humiliations)

1. The act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification.
   • 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:

     Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.

2. The state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission.
   • 1936, Dale Carnegie, “Part 6, Chapter 1. HOW TO DIG YOUR MARITAL GRAVE IN THE QUICKEST POSSIBLE WAY.”, in How to Win Friends and Influence People, page 264:

         One morning Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln were having breakfast when Lincoln did something that aroused the fiery temper of his wife. What, no one remembers now. But Mrs. Lincoln, in a rage, dashed a cup of hot coffee into her husband's face. And she did it in front of the other boarders.
         Saying nothing, Lincoln sat there in humiliation and silence while Mrs. Early came with a wet towel and wiped off his face and clothes.

• abasement
• dishonor
• embarrassment
• mortification
• shame

• honor
• exaltation

• humble
• humiliate
• humiliating
• humility

• humiliation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• humiliation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

From humilier 'to humiliate' (itself from Latin humiliare, from humilis 'humble') + -ation

• ^{(mute h)} IPA^(key): /y.mi.lja.sjɔ̃/

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humiliation f (plural humiliations)

1. A humiliation, active or passive

• abaissement m

• humiliant

• Nouveau Petit Larousse illustré. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. Paris, Librairie Larousse, 1952, 146th edition

• “humiliation” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).