humble

[huhm-buhl, uhm-]

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adjective, hum·bler, hum·blest.

not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.

having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.: In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble.

low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly: of humble origin; a humble home.

courteously respectful: In my humble opinion you are wrong.

low in height, level, etc.; small in size: a humble member of the galaxy.

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

to lower in condition, importance, or dignity; abase.

to destroy the independence, power, or will of.

to make meek: to humble one's heart.

Nearby words

Origin of humble

1200–50; Middle English (h)umble < Old French < Latin humilis lowly, insignificant, on the ground. See humus, -ile

SYNONYMS FOR humble

1. unpretending, unpretentious. 2. submissive, meek. 3. unassuming, plain, common, poor. 4. polite. 6. mortify, shame, abash. 7. subdue, crush, break.

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ANTONYMS FOR humble

1, 2. proud. 3. noble, exalted. 4. rude, insolent. 6. elevate. 8. exalt.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR humble ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

hum·ble·ness, nounhum·bler, nounhum·bling·ly, adverbhum·bly, adverb

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 humbling

The Humbling focuses on Simon Axler (Pacino), a veteran stage actor who loses the desire to act.
Al Pacino Does What He Wants to Do: 'The Humbling,' Scorsese, and That 'Scarface' Remake|Alex Suskind|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perry called his failed 2012 bid for the GOP nomination “painful” and “humbling.”
Rick Perry, Humbled by His ‘Oops,’ May Be Ready This Time|Eleanor Clift|June 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The messy, complex, non-linear movement of actual history, by contrast, is unsettling, humbling—even terrifying.
How ‘Cosmos’ Bungles the History of Religion and Science|David Sessions|March 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it is a humbling reminder of how moral campaigns are actually won: with more than simple appeals to the heart.
How Blacks Freed Themselves from Slavery|Eric Herschthal|February 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Yet we fear to pursue this thought to its humbling conclusion.
From Smarm To Snark, We’re All Soldiers In The War On Obscurity|James Poulos|December 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Exert your royal gifts in exalting only the lowly and humbling only the proud.
Notes of a Son and Brother|Henry James
You won't have such another chance of humbling them both—both!
Evan Harrington, Complete|George Meredith
No small part of those energies in the business district were devoted to humbling the rival, in the matter of commerce.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Surely Rosalind's depreciation of it is not real, but only assumed, for the purpose of humbling, Phebe!
Notes and Queries, Number 138, June 19, 1852|Various
He could find no method of humbling one subject grown too great, but by aggrandizing in the same excessive degree some others.
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. VII. (of 12)|Edmund Burke

British Dictionary definitions for humbling

humble

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 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).

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 humbling

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

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for humbling

humble

adjective

verb (tr)

Word Origin for humble

humble

humble

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