Showing results for "humbling"

• present participle of humble.

humbling

American  

[huhm-bling, uhm-] / ˈhʌm blɪŋ, ˈʌm- /

adjective

1. causing a person to feel less proud, especially through awe, admiration, or gratitude.

   This project has involved some exceptionally talented people and it’s been a humbling experience to work with them.

2. lowering a person’s status, power, dignity, confidence, etc..

   The 26:2 vote in favor of their opponents was indeed a humbling defeat.

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noun

1. the act of affecting a person or thing in any of these ways, or the experience of being so affected.

   The Magna Carta marked the restoration of Anglo-Saxon freedom and the humbling of Norman tyranny.

Other Word Forms

• self-humbling
  adjective
• humblingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of humbling

First recorded in 1540–50; humbl(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; humbl(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

humbling

“This is a humbling day for us,” said McVay, who knows what’s coming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

For me, parenting is a humbling experience daily and I felt it was something about this that tapped into a vulnerability and a rawness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

"Her story is humbling, full of compassion and kindness and makes us think about how we live our own lives - it is a legacy for us all."

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Its chair Grant Thorburn said the officers' deaths had "hit home hard" and that seeing the tributes and donations paid to them had been "humbling".

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

For a writer, there’s nothing more humbling than to be at a loss for words.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

Related Words

• contempt
• degradation
• dishonor
• disrespect
• humiliation
• ignominy
• opprobrium
• reproach
• scorn
• stigma