hu ‧ mil ‧ i ‧ a ‧ tion /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃ ə n/ BrE AmE noun
1 . [uncountable] a feeling of shame and great embarrassment, because you have been made to look stupid or weak:
the humiliation of having to ask her parents for money
2 . [countable] a situation that makes you feel humiliated:
The government suffered a series of political humiliations.
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THESAURUS
▪ shame the feeling you have when you feel guilty and embarrassed because you, or someone who is close to you, have done something wrong:
She never overcame the shame of having abandoned her children.
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He remembered his angry words with a deep sense of shame.
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Following the scandal, Garrison resigned in shame.
▪ humiliation a feeling of shame and embarrassment because you have been made to look weak or stupid in front of other people:
What really upset me was the humiliation of having to ask her for money.
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He suffered the humiliation of defeat in the first round of the competition.
▪ dishonour British English , dishonor American English formal the loss of other people’s respect because you have done something bad, or you have been unsuccessful:
His comments have brought shame and dishonour on him and his profession.
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There is no dishonour in failure when you have done everything you possibly can to succeed.
▪ stigma the feeling that other people in society disapprove of you because of something that has happened to you, or because you feel different from most other people in some way – used especially when this seems unfair and unreasonable:
Even when someone has been found innocent of a crime, the stigma often remains.
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At first I found the stigma of being unemployed very difficult to cope with.
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In many countries there is still a strong social stigma attached to homosexuality.