modest
Americanadjective
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having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one's merits, importance, etc.; free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions.
- Synonyms:
- unobtrusive, unpretentious, unassuming, retiring
-
free from ostentation or showy extravagance.
a modest house.
- Synonyms:
- unobtrusive, unpretentious
-
having or showing regard for the decencies of behavior, speech, dress, etc.; decent.
a modest neckline on a dress.
-
limited or moderate in amount, extent, etc..
a modest increase in salary.
adjective
-
having or expressing a humble opinion of oneself or one's accomplishments or abilities
-
reserved or shy
modest behaviour
-
not ostentatious or pretentious
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not extreme or excessive; moderate
-
decorous or decent
Related Words
Modest, demure, prudish imply conformity to propriety and decorum, and a distaste for anything coarse or loud. Modest implies a becoming shyness, sobriety, and proper behavior: a modest, self-respecting person. Demure implies a bashful, quiet simplicity, staidness, and decorum; but can also indicate an assumed or affected modesty: a demure young chorus girl. Prudish suggests an exaggeratedly self-conscious modesty or propriety in behavior or conversation of one who wishes to be thought of as easily shocked and who often is intolerant: a prudish objection to a harmless remark.
Other Word Forms
- hypermodest adjective
- hypermodestness noun
- modestly adverb
- overmodest adjective
- pseudomodest adjective
- quasi-modest adjective
- supermodest adjective
- unmodest adjective
Etymology
Origin of modest
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin modestus “restrained, decorous,” equivalent to modes- (stem of unattested modus, an s- stem akin to modus “measured amount, limit, manner” ( mode 1 ), perhaps from unattested medos, with the vowel of modus; compare moderārī “to moderate” ( moderate, from the same noun stem) + -tus adjective suffix
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.
Then a few modest choruses of “sell the team” broke out.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026
“The more realistic outcome is that alternatives become a modest ‘sleeve’ inside professionally managed options—target-date funds, multi-asset portfolios, or white-label funds in large plans.”
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
The Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives concluded that modest use of alternative asset classes in a diversified target-date fund has the potential to improve a participant’s annual retirement income by 11% to 17%.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
Iain Mansfield, chief executive officer at Principality Building Society, said "modest" house price growth in Wales was likely to continue.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Even on their modest incomes, the servants had managed to pool together enough money to buy Penelope an absolutely spectacular gift.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
