humbled

American

[huhm-buhld, uhm-] / ˈhʌm bəld, ˈʌm- /

adjective

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.
lowered in condition, power, or dignity; abased.

NATO air strikes and tightening sanctions finally brought the humbled aggressors to the negotiating table.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of humble.

Other Word Forms

unhumbled adjective

Etymology

Origin of humbled

humble ( def. ) + -ed ²

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."

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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.

I should know: I was humbled on two separate occasions by his sharp analysis.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

I’m just really humbled and thankful to be a part of a team and staff that cares about things from the inside out.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2026

The 89-year-old said she had been "truly humbled" by the letters she had received "from all around world" over the course of her 70-year career.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

I am so—just dead humbled by the risks everybody takes, the double lives they all lead, how they shrug and go on working.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023