humilié
The French word for humiliated is humilié.
The word humilié is an adjective used to describe someone who has been deprived of their dignity or self-respect. If you want to express feeling humiliated or being verbally attacked using an informal idiom, you can use En prendre plein la figure, which literally means to take a hit in the face. Another informal way to express being torn apart is to use the phrase Se faire descendre en flammes.
Meaning: deprived of dignity or self-respect (adj)
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between the person and the cause of the feeling. Use humilié to describe the person feeling the emotion, such as the victim. In contrast, use humiliant to describe the specific thing or situation that causes the humiliation.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender and number with the subject it describes. Use the feminine form humiliée if the person being humiliated is female. For a group of men or a mixed-gender group, use the masculine plural form humiliés. If the group consists only of women, use the feminine plural form humiliées.
Did you know?
- The word humilié shares a root with the word humus, referring to the earth. This reflects an ancient conceptual link between being lowered in status and being brought down to the ground.
- To describe a feeling of deep, lingering humiliation, French speakers might use être mort de honte, which literally means 'to be dead with shame'. This hyperbole is common in daily conversation to express extreme embarrassment.
- In French, the word humilité can be a virtue, but humiliation is always a negative experience. This creates a sharp linguistic divide between choosing to be humble and being forced into a state of lowliness.
Examples in context
- J'ai été si humilié.I was so humiliated.This sentence is useful for expressing how humiliated one felt.Tatoeba #5579266 by Aiji, translation #5270079 by CK
- Tom se sentit humilié.Tom felt humiliated.This sentence shows how someone might feel humiliated.Tatoeba #9392142 by Micsmithel, translation #1025792 by CK
- Elle fut humiliée par lui.She was humiliated by him.This sentence describes a woman being humiliated by someone.Tatoeba #1337273 by sacredceltic, translation #887549 by CK
- J'ai été humilié(e) lors de la réunion devant mes collègues.I was humiliated during the meeting in front of my colleagues.
- Il m'a descendu(e) en flammes devant tout le monde.He tore me apart in front of everyone.
- J'étais la risée de mes camarades après avoir raté mon discours.I was the laughingstock of my classmates after messing up my speech.
- 24 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are discussing a difficult moment at a party.
- HugoJe me suis senti vraiment humilié par sa remarque.I felt truly humiliated by his remark.
- ChloéC'est vrai, il a été très méchant avec toi.It's true, he was very mean to you.
- HugoJe n'aurais jamais dû accepter cette invitation.I should never have accepted this invitation.
- ChloéNe t'inquiète pas, Hugo, tout le monde a compris.Don't worry, Hugo, everyone understood.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
