humbled
Americanadjective
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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.
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lowered in condition, power, or dignity; abased.
NATO air strikes and tightening sanctions finally brought the humbled aggressors to the negotiating table.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of humbled
Explanation
Someone who's humbled is made to feel less proud — they're chastened or deflated. A humbled sports star might be one who addresses the public after being punished for cheating. Your favorite basketball team is humbled if they lose badly to one of the worst teams in the league, and your schoolmate is humbled after bragging that he had straight As, only to get a miserable report card. In both cases, the humbled person or group has been brought down to earth, or taken down a peg. They're a little bit embarrassed and a little bit subdued. The Latin root is humilis, "lowly," and literally, "on the ground."
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.
She "looked suitably humbled and tearful" as she emerged, he said, going on to praise the stage direction.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
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
“I was humbled and blown away by the incredible response to the opening of ‘The Mad King,’” co-producer Simon Painter said Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
“Reverend Connerly, I am humbled to be in your presence. I am the lowly Charles Mondial Vaughn the Fourth, Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. Knighted a mere fourteen years ago.”
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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.
