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humble

[huhm-buh l, uhm-]
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adjective, hum·bler, hum·blest.
  1. not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.
  2. having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.: In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble.
  3. low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly: of humble origin; a humble home.
  4. courteously respectful: In my humble opinion you are wrong.
  5. low in height, level, etc.; small in size: a humble member of the galaxy.
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verb (used with object), hum·bled, hum·bling.
  1. to lower in condition, importance, or dignity; abase.
  2. to destroy the independence, power, or will of.
  3. to make meek: to humble one's heart.
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Origin of humble

1200–50; Middle English (h)umble < Old French < Latin humilis lowly, insignificant, on the ground. See humus, -ile
Related formshum·ble·ness, nounhum·bler, nounhum·bling·ly, adverbhum·bly, adverbo·ver·hum·ble, adjectiveo·ver·hum·ble·ness, nouno·ver·hum·b·ly, adverbqua·si-hum·ble, adjectivequa·si-hum·b·ly, adverbself-hum·bling, adjectiveun·hum·ble, adjectiveun·hum·ble·ness, nounun·hum·b·ly, adverbun·hum·bled, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for humble on Thesaurus.com
1. unpretending, unpretentious. 2. submissive, meek. 3. unassuming, plain, common, poor. 4. polite. 6. mortify, shame, abash. 7. subdue, crush, break.

Synonym study

7. Humble, degrade, humiliate suggest lowering or causing to seem lower. To humble is to bring down the pride of another or to reduce him or her 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.

Antonyms

1, 2. proud. 3. noble, exalted. 4. rude, insolent. 6. elevate. 8. exalt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for humbled

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I was, in truth, and not more so than deeply mortified and humbled.

  • The curse of circumstance had humbled, but reconciled him to the dust.

    Leila, Complete

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • Before the grief of the man, mighty in its silence, my whole being was humbled.

  • It humbled and abashed the man, and made him still more irresolute and uncertain.

    Barnaby Rudge

    Charles Dickens

  • "I'm afraid I haven't washed it very often," confessed the humbled Prince.

    Prince Vance

    Eleanor Putnam

British Dictionary definitions for humbled

humble

adjective
  1. conscious of one's failings
  2. unpretentious; lowlya humble cottage; my humble opinion
  3. deferential or servile
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verb (tr)
  1. to cause to become humble; humiliate
  2. to lower in status
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Derived Formshumbled, adjectivehumbleness, nounhumbler, nounhumbling, adjectivehumblingly, adverbhumbly, adverb

Word Origin

C13: from Old French, from Latin humilis low, from humus the ground
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for humbled

humble

adj.

mid-13c., from Old French humble, earlier humele, from Latin humilis "lowly, humble," literally "on the ground," from humus "earth." Senses of "not self-asserting" and "of low birth or rank" were both in Middle English Related: Humbly; humbleness.

Don't be so humble; you're not that great. [Golda Meir]

To eat humble pie (1830) is from umble pie (1640s), pie made from umbles "edible inner parts of an animal" (especially deer), considered a low-class food. The similar sense of similar-sounding words (the "h" of humble was not pronounced then) converged in the pun. Umbles, meanwhile, is Middle English numbles "offal" (with loss of n- through assimilation into preceding article).

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humble

v.

late 14c. in the intransitive sense of "to render oneself humble;" late 15c. in the transitive sense of "to lower (someone) in dignity;" see humble (adj.). Related: Humbled; humbling.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with humbled

humble

see eat crow (humble pie).

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.