humiliate

/hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/

//hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"humiliate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“humiliate” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,120. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,120
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause to be ashamed; to injure the dignity and self-respect of.

Corpus desk

Index EN-humiliate · humiliate · English

humiliate · rank #26,120 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #26,120
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH huddle

Nearest frequency peer: huddle (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “humiliate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “humiliate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

humiliate vs humility
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for humiliate
PropertyValue
Headwordhumiliate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#26,120
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “humiliate”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).humiliatelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “huddle” (#26,119), “hurled” (#26,121), “HSBC” (#26,118). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “humiliate” is #26,120. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around humiliate (IPA /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #26,120 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for humiliate, with forms such as "hhumiliate", "hmuiliate", and "huimliate". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "humility", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is humiliate, spelled H-U-M-I-L-I-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cause to be ashamed; to injure the dignity and self-respect of.
  2. 2
    To make humble; to lower in condition or status.
  3. 3
    To defeat overwhelmingly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how humiliate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The bully tried to humiliate the other students during lunch.
  2. He would never intentionally humiliate anyone, even in jest.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

humillar(Español)humilier(Français)demütigen(Deutsch)humilhar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhumiliate
  • hmuiliate
  • huimliate
  • humiilate
  • humilaite
  • humiliaet
  • humiliatte
  • humilitae
  • humilliate
  • humliiate
  • hummiliate
  • uhmiliate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of humiliate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hhumiliate1hmuiliate2huimliate2humiilate2humilaite2humiliaet2humiliatte1humilitae2
Edit distance from "humiliate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "humiliate"?
"humiliate" is spelled H-U-M-I-L-I-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/.
What does "humiliate" mean?
As a verb, "humiliate" means: To cause to be ashamed; to injure the dignity and self-respect of.
What words are commonly confused with "humiliate"?
"humiliate" is commonly confused with "humility". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "humiliate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "humiliate" is /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "humiliate"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "humiliate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

housework#26,115ingrained#26,127hesitated#26,110Gorbachev#26,100

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

importer12 variantsGuernsey12 variantsgendered12 variantsLockwood12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list