humble
Americanadjective
-
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)
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:
Baniamerian was from childhood "a kind and humble person", his relative said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Miyamoto has a similar humble but thankless task she’d want help with.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
For The Telegraph, Neill also discussed his humble upbringing, how he felt his acting career had been a “complete fluke” and his perspective on life amid his cancer battle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
My humble thanks go out to all these correspondents, commenters and readers, and my condolences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
I was merely a humble instrument of the Lord that day.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Beijing has also set its sights on far humbler targets, Taiwanese officials say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 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
Finding only disappointment, she returned home humbler but no less determined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2024
Expatriates from all corners of the earth make up the vast majority of the UAE’s population, and some have taken an interest in its humbler past.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
It ran half the length of the city and had become its most coveted real estate, never mind that much of it fell in humbler neighborhoods.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
His abhorrent behavior is sadly too common across the restaurant industry, from the finest dining to the humblest street stalls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
Soon even the humblest burgh in the hinterland could lay claim to a flourishing pizzeria.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Will, the humblest member of our group of five heroes, learned last episode that he is dying of Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2024
Hansons Auctioneers, in Banbury, Oxfordshire, said it was an "astonishing" price for "the humblest Christmas tree in the world".
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2023
Pinmei stumbled, pulling Yishan with her so they both ended up in the humblest of kowtows.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
Matthew 23: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
He has a flop with his film, “Big Top Pee-wee,” which humbles him.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2025
“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
Nice to see that the scale of the event humbles even the most royal of rock's royalty.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 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
Both Washington and Moscow were humbled in foreign wars in the past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The prime minister said he was "profoundly humbled" to meet the student's family in Downing Street on Thursday and he was determined to "prevent other families from suffering such a devastating loss".
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
“I am humbled and grateful that Californians from every corner of our state have rallied behind this campaign,” Shaw said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
The A.I. use is the one topic for which Pratt sounded humbled in the stretch drive of the campaign.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
Thanks mainly to Daniel Burnham the city had proved it could accomplish something marvelous against obstacles that by any measure should have humbled the builders.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
What a strange and humbling thing that the course of human history has been repeatedly upended by this singular pathogen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Sarina Wiegman says her "hurt" England side need setbacks like their humbling defeat by Spain in order to improve.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 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
Travolta called receiving the award "a humbling moment".
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
I didn’t know why he had chosen me, why it was only to me that he could show the most humbling sides of his handicap.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
