How to pronounce humiliate
Say it like hyoo-MIL-ee-ayt. Humiliate has four syllables, and the main stress falls on the second one (MIL).
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce humiliate. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- hyoo
- MIL
- ee
- ayt
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Humiliate pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- hyooKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the "oo" in food.
- MILSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "i" in sit.
- eeKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the "ee" in see.
- aytGive this part a little weight. The vowel is the "ay" in day.
American vs British pronunciation of humiliate
American and British speakers say humiliate in essentially the same way: /hjuˈmɪliˌeɪt/ in the US and /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/ in the UK.
British respelling: hyoo-MIL-ee-ayt.
What does humiliate mean?
- To cause to be ashamed; to injure the dignity and self-respect of.“The bully tried to humiliate the other students during lunch.”
- To make humble; to lower in condition or status.
- To defeat overwhelmingly.
Where does humiliate come from?
Borrowed from Late Latin humiliātus, perfect passive participle of humiliō (“to abase, humble”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin humilis (“lowly, humble”), from humus (“ground; earth, soil”); see humble.
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Opposite meaning
Words that rhyme with humiliate
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of humiliate.
Questions about saying humiliate
How do you pronounce humiliate?
Say hyoo-MIL-ee-ayt. The American pronunciation is /hjuˈmɪliˌeɪt/. In British English it is /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in humiliate?
Humiliate has four syllables, and the main stress falls on the second one (MIL). Broken into parts: hyoo · MIL · ee · ayt.
Do Americans and Brits say humiliate the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /hjuˈmɪliˌeɪt/ and the British form is /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.