humbled

American

[huhm-buhld, uhm-] / ˈhʌm bəld, ˈʌm- /

adjective

made less proud, especially by awe or admiration, or by gratitude for help received, an undeserved advantage or honor, etc..

The land is a perpetual gift; I am humbled like a stranger who is invited to dinner and fed the best food in the house.
lowered in condition, power, or dignity; abased.

NATO air strikes and tightening sanctions finally brought the humbled aggressors to the negotiating table.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of humble.

Other Word Forms

unhumbled adjective

Etymology

Origin of humbled

humble ( def. ) + -ed ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“The loyalty, the steadfast spirit, the character that they’ve chosen day in and day out. ... I am just so humbled that they’ve chosen to commit to our mission.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

But the past century has shown that even the world’s largest and most modern militaries can be humbled when attacking tenacious adversaries willing to endure more pain to defend their territory despite overwhelming odds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

“Super cool. Super surreal. Super humbled, blessed,” James said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2026

The Englishman, who has signed a contract until 2032, said in a club statement that he was "extremely humbled and honoured to be appointed".

From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026

We had no re-joinder for Piliso, and we sheepishly walked out of the office, feeling even more humbled than we had on the first occasion.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023