different between humiliation vs attrition

English

Etymology

From Middle French humiliation, from Late Latin humiliatio, from humiliare (“to humiliate”); see humiliate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hju??m?li?e???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

humiliation (countable and uncountable, plural humiliations)

1. The act of humiliating or humbling someone; abasement of pride; mortification.
2. The state of being humiliated, humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission.

   •     One morning Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln were having breakfast when Lincoln did something that aroused the fiery temper of his wife. What, no one remembers now. But Mrs. Lincoln, in a rage, dashed a cup of hot coffee into her husband's face. And she did it in front of the other boarders.
         Saying nothing, Lincoln sat there in humiliation and silence while Mrs. Early came with a wet towel and wiped off his face and clothes.

Synonyms

• abasement
• dishonor
• embarrassment
• mortification
• shame

Antonyms

• honor
• exaltation

Related terms

• humble
• humiliate
• humiliating
• humility

Translations

Further reading

• humiliation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• humiliation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Etymology

From Late Latin humili?ti?.

Pronunciation

• ^{(mute h)} IPA^(key): /y.mi.lja.sj??/

Noun

humiliation f (plural humiliations)

1. A humiliation, active or passive

Synonyms

• abaissement

Related terms

• humiliant

References

• Nouveau Petit Larousse illustré. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. Paris, Librairie Larousse, 1952, 146th edition

Further reading

• “humiliation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Latin attritio (“a rubbing against”), from the verb attritus, past participle of atterere (“to wear”), from ad- (“to, towards”) + terere (“to rub”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [??t????n]
• Rhymes: -???n

Noun

attrition (countable and uncountable, plural attritions)

1. Wearing or grinding down by friction.
2. The gradual reduction in a tangible or intangible resource due to causes that are passive and do not involve productive use of the resource.
3. (human resources) A gradual, natural reduction in membership or personnel, as through retirement, resignation, or death.
4. (sciences) The loss of participants during an experiment.
5. (theology) Imperfect contrition or remorse.
6. (dentistry) The wearing of teeth due to their grinding.
7. (linguistics) The loss of a first or second language or a portion of that language.

Synonyms

• (employment reduction by natural causes): natural wastage

Antonyms

• accretion

Derived terms

Related terms

• contrition

Translations

Verb

attrition (third-person singular simple present attritions, present participle attritioning, simple past and past participle attritioned)

1. (transitive) To grind or wear down through friction.

   Synonym: attrit

   • 1989, Shashi Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, New York: Arcade, Book 9, p. 189,^[2]

     […] He took her in his arms

     And kissed her long and wetly,

     Till, attritioned by her charms,

     His will collapsed completely.

2. (transitive) To reduce the number of (jobs or workers) by not hiring new employees to fill positions that become vacant (often with out).
   • 1973, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education, Hearings (page 186)

     […] but the heart of the health services in New York will have to attrition out some 3,000 to 5,000 jobs.

   • 1989, Herbert S. White, “The Future of Library and Information Science Education” in Librarians and the Awakening from Innocence, Boston: G.K. Hall, p. 86,^[3]

     […] expenses can be cut, by attritioning faculty vacancies […]

3. (intransitive) To undergo a reduction in number.

Translations

References

Anagrams

• titration

French

Etymology

From Latin attr?ti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.t?i.sj??/

Noun

attrition f (plural attritions)

1. attrition

Derived terms

• guerre d'attrition