modest
[mod-ist]
- having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one's merits, importance, etc.; free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions.
- free from ostentation or showy extravagance: a modest house.
- having or showing regard for the decencies of behavior, speech, dress, etc.; decent: a modest neckline on a dress.
- limited or moderate in amount, extent, etc.: a modest increase in salary.
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Origin of modest
Synonyms
See more synonyms for modest on Thesaurus.com1. retiring, unassuming. 1, 2. unpretentious, unobtrusive. 3. pure, virtuous. Modest, demure, prudish imply conformity to propriety and decorum, and a distaste for anything coarse or loud. Modest implies a becoming shyness, sobriety, and proper behavior: a modest, self-respecting person. Demure implies a bashful, quiet simplicity, staidness, and decorum; but can also indicate an assumed or affected modesty: a demure young chorus girl. Prudish suggests an exaggeratedly self-conscious modesty or propriety in behavior or conversation of one who wishes to be thought of as easily shocked and who often is intolerant: a prudish objection to a harmless remark.
Antonyms
3. bold, coarse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for modest
Contemporary Examples
And there are other stories DuVernay could have told and still met her (relatively) modest budget of $20 million.
How does it happen that citizens of modest means suffer as public sector unions gain?
A modest crowd moved East on 110th Street in New York City on Sunday evening.
Even its benign forms—the resurgence of modest dress norms in Jewish communities, for example—perpetuate this idea.
I knew the Clintons had arrived at the White House with modest means.
Historical Examples
The face, neck, and arms of the modest maiden were flushed with indignant crimson.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
Our hero listened with modest pleasure while it was being read.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
Tell you what the trouble is with you, old man: you're too modest.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
He's as boyishly honest as if he were sixteen; and as modest.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
Few could imagine from his modest exterior the latent, fire and energy which burn in his bosom.
RidgewayScian Dubh
modest
- having or expressing a humble opinion of oneself or one's accomplishments or abilities
- reserved or shymodest behaviour
- not ostentatious or pretentious
- not extreme or excessive; moderate
- decorous or decent
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Word Origin
C16: via Old French from Latin modestus moderate, from modus mode
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for modest
adj.
1560s, "having moderate self-regard," from Middle French modeste (14c.), from Latin modestus "keeping due measure" (see modesty). Of women, "not improper or lewd," 1590s; of female attire, 1610s. Of demands, etc., c.1600. Related: Modestly.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper