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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 humbling

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • This was putting the matter in a new, and, for me, an humbling light.

    The First Violin

    Jessie Fothergill

  • This completed my humbling; for no man had ever disdained me thus before.

    Sir Ludar

    Talbot Baines Reed

  • The position in which you find yourselves should be humbling.

    Adaptation

    Dallas McCord Reynolds

  • This is how you treat me for humbling myself, when it is you that ought to ask forgiveness.

    White Lies

    Charles Reade

  • I owe you that admission, humbling to the pride that is left in me!

    The Dop Doctor

    Clotilde Inez Mary Graves

British Dictionary definitions for humbling

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 humbling

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 humbling

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.