adjective
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patient, long-suffering, or submissive in disposition or nature; humble
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spineless or spiritless; compliant
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an obsolete word for gentle
Usage
What does meek mean? When used in a positive way, meek describes someone who shows patient restraint. When used negatively, it means overly submissive. The positive sense of meek implies that someone is able to remain calm and subdued even when being provoked. Its negative use is perhaps more common, and is intended to indicate that someone is being too passive. The word meek is often associated with Christian virtues due to its use in a well-known Bible passage. Example: I know you’re naturally reserved, but you can’t be so meek during job interviews.
Synonym Usage
See gentle.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of meek
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English meke, meoc, from Old Norse mjūkr “soft, mild, meek”
Explanation
The adjective meek describes a person who is willing to go along with whatever other people want to do, like a meek classmate who won't speak up, even when he or she is treated unfairly. A meek person can also be humble, but these words aren't quite synonyms. If you are humble, you don't want a lot of attention, like the humble athlete who has a truly excellent performance yet after the game, tells reporters that it was group effort by the whole team. A meek person, on the other hand, would never think a reporter would ever want to talk to him or her, and if asked, would probably try to get someone else, someone more "worthy," to do it.
Vocabulary lists containing meek
Touching Spirit Bear
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The Cay
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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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.
See Examples For:
Much of the criticism that stemmed from Scotland's meek Euro 2024 showings arose from Clarke's reluctance to move away from a back-five formation.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Few animated movies are willing to venture beyond meek, kid-friendly entertainment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
By transforming Parks into a meek, accidental activist whose only deficit was physical fatigue, the dominant cultural narrative effectively stripped her of her radicalism.
From Salon ● May 20, 2026
There’s a single-panel comic by the artist Paul Noth that pokes fun at researchers’ meek attempts.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026
I would not let his criticism stir up my anger, nor would I be falsely meek.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
First, riverbank lupine snuck into the garden on a mislabeled seed package, swamping meeker plants.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2023
But Asian American food is not the Westernization of Asian flavor, like the sweet tikka masalas and sticky General Tsos adapted for a presumed meeker American palate.
From Salon ● May 26, 2022
But the evening quickly becomes awkward, as the incorrigible alpha male Lucas teases and pokes at the meeker Adam, making unreasonable demands on him and Eva until Adam finally breaks and spills some embarrassing secrets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2022
It is a much meeker role — and exactly the right fit for Canada.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 6, 2015
So like that other wandering Christian, I cried out, submitted, and was the meeker for it.
From Moods by Alcott, Louisa May
The 2020 high school football season has ended in West Virginia with the meekest of whimpers.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 2, 2020
I witnessed her open her eyes and says in the meekest whisper of a voice: “I want to get off this merry-go-round. I want to go home.”
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2020
The lead Heather is fat-positive, the henchman is genderqueer, and the meekest member is a black lesbian.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2019
Jack appears in just one photograph, in which his son has captured him at his meekest.
From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2018
It had long seemed a curious contradiction to Palmer, that among the three kids rollicking on the field, Henry was the tallest yet also the meekest.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
