To humiliate someone means to make them feel deeply embarrassed or ashamed, especially in front of other people. When you humiliate someone, you attack their dignity and self-respect in a way that makes them feel small or worthless.

Imagine a teacher calling out a student's poor grade in front of the whole class, or classmates laughing at someone who gave a wrong answer. That's humiliation. It's different from simple embarrassment, which might happen by accident. Humiliation usually involves someone deliberately putting another person down, often publicly.

People sometimes confuse feeling humiliated with feeling humble, but they're opposites in an important way. Being humble means recognizing your limitations with grace. Being humiliated means someone has tried to strip away your dignity. Being humiliated can cause lasting damage to someone's confidence and trust.