humble
Americanadjective
-
humbler,
comparative
-
humblest
superlative
-
not proud or arrogant; modest.
Though very successful, she remained humble.
- Synonyms:
- unpretentious
- Antonyms:
- proud
-
having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc..
In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble.
- Synonyms:
- meek, deferential
- Antonyms:
- proud
-
low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly.
of humble origin;
a humble home.
- Synonyms:
- poor, common, plain, unassuming
-
courteously respectful.
In my humble opinion you are wrong.
- Synonyms:
- polite
-
low in height, level, etc.; small in size.
a humble member of the galaxy.
verb (used with object)
-
humbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
humbled,
past participle, past
-
humbling
present participle
adjective
-
conscious of one's failings
-
unpretentious; lowly
a humble cottage
my humble opinion
-
deferential or servile
verb
-
to cause to become humble; humiliate
-
to lower in status
Synonym Usage
Humble, degrade, humiliate suggest lowering or causing to seem lower. To humble is to bring down the pride of another or to reduce them to a state of abasement: to humble an arrogant enemy. To degrade is to demote in rank or standing, or to reduce to a low level in dignity: to degrade an officer; to degrade oneself by lying. To humiliate is to make others feel or appear inadequate or unworthy, especially in some public setting: to humiliate a sensitive person.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
humblenessnoun
-
humblernoun
-
humbledadjective
-
humblingadjective
-
overhumbleadjective
-
quasi-humbleadjective
-
unhumbleadjective
-
humblinglyadverb
-
humblyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
humblesimple
-
humblessimple
-
have humbledperfect
-
has humbledperfect
-
am humblingprogressive
-
are humblingprogressive
-
is humblingprogressive
-
have been humblingperfect progressive
-
has been humblingperfect progressive
Past
-
humbledsimple
-
had humbledperfect
-
was humblingprogressive
-
were humblingprogressive
-
had been humblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of humble
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English (h)umble, from Old French, from Latin humilis “lowly, insignificant, on the ground”; see humus, -ile
Explanation
Humble means "modest; without an excess of pride." A person who brags about being humble may have too much pride in being humble to actually be humble. Sometimes fictional characters try to earn favor by saying "I'm just a humble man in search of..." when it is obvious they are the opposite. Truly humble people keep quiet about their accomplishments and the good things they do. Humble can also mean "low in station or quality." If you come from a humble background, you didn't grow up wealthy, and if you live in a humble apartment, it isn't overly grand or showy.
Vocabulary lists containing humble
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
See Examples For:
If the other parties "choose not to stand, somebody has to stand up and be the opposition. And so it's my humble duty to actually be His Majesty's official opposition," he added.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
A few 9s to keep the ignition crew humble.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
If God has other plans, I’m willing to be humble and walk that path.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Lately though, the humble frank has been experiencing a cultural glow-up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
As humble a product as it was, sponges were extremely important to those who bought them and profitable to those who harvested them.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
On a humbler scale, Kail poetically marks the passage of time with a thickening palm tree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Gilgamesh’s lament is not the stylized keening of epic tradition—not Achilles’ highfalutin howls after Hector strikes down Patroclus—but something rawer, humbler, more recognizably human.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Still, the rewards that come with the new travel debit cards are much humbler than those of even the least generous credit cards from the same companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
But I believe the answer to those scourges can be found not in an advocate’s crusading righteousness, but in a journalist’s humbler mission: to seek the truth and help people understand the world.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
It might get noised about that the Pontelliers had met with reverses, and were forced to conduct their ménage on a humbler scale than heretofore.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
Lamarck disputed this, arguing “that life at its essence is creative agency, that living beings, especially the smallest and humblest of them, continually remake the world,” as well as themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Throckmorton’s shuttering occurred in the era before the internet conferred immortality to even the humblest of establishments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024
"To the millions who tuned in every Sunday evening to watch The Antiques Roadshow, Henry was like a favourite uncle, whose enthusiasm for even the humblest piece of chipped china was infectious," John Sandon said.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2023
“Bob is the humblest egomaniac I’ve ever met, but he undercuts his narcissism by being so damn lovable. A walking contradiction, he makes up for his self-inflicted insecurity by being a self-inflicted aggrandizer,” he said.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2023
In the silences between jokes about Leper’s glories we wondered whether we ourselves would measure up to the humblest minimum standard of the army.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
He has a flop with his film, “Big Top Pee-wee,” which humbles him.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2025
The idea that I’ve had all this experience humbles me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2024
“And when you are music director of the New York Philharmonic, you are part of the New York Philharmonic. And in a way that humbles us.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
“The game’s so hard and it humbles you so much, we’re taught and kind of trained to keep your eye on what’s in the present,” Counsell said.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
There are portraits of me and Barack now hanging in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, a fact that humbles us both.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
I am humbled that you’d ask me for a third opinion.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
I'm "humbled that I'm getting to put Matthew back in cinema after six and a half years," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
A deeper criticism is that in the diary he doesn’t seem at all humbled by the role in which he’s been cast, or by his responsibilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Gu said the experience "humbled" him and made him realise there was still a "huge amount of kindness in people".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Thanks, Andre,” I said, greatly humbled by the gesture.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
“It’s very humbling to be down there and try to bring some of our fellow soldiers, sailors back home,” said Chief Petty Officer Jason Friars, a U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
That is a humbling admission from a company long accustomed to running the table on its suppliers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
“Tone poem” is an overused term in cinema, but the humbling “Time and Water,” graced with a playful, atmospheric Dan Deacon score, earns that distinction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
“As a mother, it’s been humbling to watch the kind of young man he has become through adversity,” Janet said in a letter she wrote honoring her son.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2026
It was reported that as many as a million people personally witnessed our procession through the city, and to see the support and enthusiasm they gave to the anti-apartheid struggle was truly humbling.
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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
