meekness
Americannoun
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the quality of being patient or quiet in nature.
The theme of her sermon was that quietness and meekness are the beginning of wisdom.
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the quality of being overly submissive.
Several speakers criticized the government for its meekness when confronted with threats.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of meekness
Explanation
Use the noun meekness to talk about someone's habit of acting shy or submissive. Your own meekness might keep you from asking your boss for a raise. If you tend to give in easily, or to quietly endure hardship, you have the quality of meekness. Meekness can mean not speaking up for yourself or deferring to other people with louder voices and stronger opinions. The word meekness has meek at its root, "gentle, benevolent, or humble." Originally, the word meek was specifically associated with women and feminine qualities, and it comes from an Old Norse root, mjúkr, "soft or gentle."
Vocabulary lists containing meekness
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"God Sees the Truth, But Waits" by Leo Tolstory
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"Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison
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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.
To endure slander and abuse with meekness' requires no ordinary degree of self-command', Night coming on', both armies retired from the field of battle'.
From McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader by McGuffey, William Holmes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
