humble

o·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

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for humbled

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Curtis said she was “honored and humbled” to even be considered.
Meet Montana's Nose-Ringed Candidate for the U.S. Senate|Ben Jacobs|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And humbled Socialists rallied to throw support behind the conservative Chirac.
How Marine Le Pen and France’s Ultra-Right Won the Day|Tracy McNicoll|May 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"I am profoundly moved and humbled to be asked to take on the CEO role at this company that means so much to me," Bailey said.
Eric Wilson Named InStyle's Fashion News Director; Christopher Bailey Replaces Angela Ahrendts as Burberry CEO|The Fashion Beast Team|October 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Having been humbled once, Cameron decided not to risk a re-run in Parliament.
How Britain Rushed to Inaction in Syria|Nico Hines|September 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST

That claim crumbled as Cameron was humbled in the House of Commons.
With Britain Out, Allies Abandon Obama on Syria|Nico Hines|August 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Some looked out through dull eyes, humbled and brow-beaten and unfeeling.
The Bishop of Cottontown|John Trotwood Moore
It was a massacre rather than a battle, and Henry's spirit was humbled.
The Normans|Sarah Orne Jewett
She humbled herself before the church, whose voice she believed she heard through the lips of her confessor.
Roman Catholicism in Spain|Anonymous
The proud here realize the irrevocable sentence "everyone who exalteth himself shall be humbled."
Dante: "The Central Man of All the World"|John T. Slattery
I was, in truth, and not more so than deeply mortified and humbled.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327|Various

British Dictionary definitions for humbled

humble

/ (ˈhʌmbəl) /

adjective

conscious of one's failings

unpretentious; lowlya humble cottage; my humble opinion

deferential or servile

verb (tr)

to cause to become humble; humiliate

to lower in status

Derived Forms

humbled, adjectivehumbleness, nounhumbler, nounhumbling, adjective

humblingly, adverbhumbly, adverb

Word Origin for humble

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 (1 of 2)

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).

Word Origin and History for humbled (1 of 2)

humble

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.

Idioms and Phrases with humbled

humble

see eat crow (humble pie).

humble

adjective, hum·bler, hum·blest.

verb (used with object), hum·bled, hum·bling.

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Origin of humble

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Examples from the Web for humbled

British Dictionary definitions for humbled

humble

adjective

verb (tr)

Word Origin for humble

Word Origin and History for humbled (1 of 2)

humble

Word Origin and History for humbled (1 of 2)

humble

Idioms and Phrases with humbled

humble