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:
Moore plays Mona, a meek, thoroughly unseen wife and mother who impulsively decides to audition for a community theater musical despite having no experience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Bangs were for the meek, the insecure, those with something to hide — or alternatively those going through some kind of life crisis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
These are from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus blesses the poor, the meek and the peacemakers, and then calls on his followers to turn the other cheek and love their enemies.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026
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
“You would say yourself,” I reminded him, “‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
First, riverbank lupine snuck into the garden on a mislabeled seed package, swamping meeker plants.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2023
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
Ron is a gigantic goof who either doesn't read body language well or ignores it entirely, overpowering the smaller, meeker Marcus with his gigantic personality and boundless acts of kindness.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2021
Even Jeb Bush, the stern patrician of the Republican race, has shown a growing fondness for some gentler four-letter words, at times adding them to prepared remarks that had called for something meeker.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2015
If he is "B. J." about it, he is bullied the more; if he shows fight, he has all he wants, and is made meeker still.
From A Cadet's Honor Mark Mallory's Heroism by Upton Sinclair
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
And signed: ‘Thy everloving father, in this world and the next, author of thy being and guardian of thy virtue; in meekest love, Hugh Crain.’
From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson
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