humble

[huhm-buhl, uhm-]

See more synonyms for humble on Thesaurus.com

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.

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 for humble

See more synonyms for 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 for humble

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

Related Words for humbling

crush, disgrace, chasten, subdue, chagrin, confuse, upset, deflate, confound, mortify, embarrass, overcome, humiliate, discredit, discomfit, lower, hide, sink, reduce, deny

Examples from the Web for humbling

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of humbling

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

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 Formshumbled, adjectivehumbleness, nounhumbler, nounhumbling, adjectivehumblingly, 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).