humble
Americanadjective
-
humbler,
comparative
-
humblest
superlative
-
not proud or arrogant; modest.
Though very successful, she remained humble.
- Synonyms:
- unpretentious
- Antonyms:
- proud
-
having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc..
In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble.
- Synonyms:
- meek, deferential
- Antonyms:
- proud
-
low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly.
of humble origin;
a humble home.
- Synonyms:
- poor, common, plain, unassuming
-
courteously respectful.
In my humble opinion you are wrong.
- Synonyms:
- polite
-
low in height, level, etc.; small in size.
a humble member of the galaxy.
verb (used with object)
-
humbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
humbled,
past participle, past
-
humbling
present participle
adjective
-
conscious of one's failings
-
unpretentious; lowly
a humble cottage
my humble opinion
-
deferential or servile
verb
-
to cause to become humble; humiliate
-
to lower in status
Synonym Usage
Humble, degrade, humiliate suggest lowering or causing to seem lower. To humble is to bring down the pride of another or to reduce them to a state of abasement: to humble an arrogant enemy. To degrade is to demote in rank or standing, or to reduce to a low level in dignity: to degrade an officer; to degrade oneself by lying. To humiliate is to make others feel or appear inadequate or unworthy, especially in some public setting: to humiliate a sensitive person.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
humblenessnoun
-
humblernoun
-
humbledadjective
-
humblingadjective
-
overhumbleadjective
-
quasi-humbleadjective
-
unhumbleadjective
-
humblinglyadverb
-
humblyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
humblesimple
-
humblessimple
-
have humbledperfect
-
has humbledperfect
-
am humblingprogressive
-
are humblingprogressive
-
is humblingprogressive
-
have been humblingperfect progressive
-
has been humblingperfect progressive
Past
-
humbledsimple
-
had humbledperfect
-
was humblingprogressive
-
were humblingprogressive
-
had been humblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of humble
First recorded in 1200โ50; Middle English (h)umble, from Old French, from Latin humilis โlowly, insignificant, on the groundโ; see humus, -ile
Explanation
Humble means "modest; without an excess of pride." A person who brags about being humble may have too much pride in being humble to actually be humble. Sometimes fictional characters try to earn favor by saying "I'm just a humble man in search of..." when it is obvious they are the opposite. Truly humble people keep quiet about their accomplishments and the good things they do. Humble can also mean "low in station or quality." If you come from a humble background, you didn't grow up wealthy, and if you live in a humble apartment, it isn't overly grand or showy.
Vocabulary lists containing humble
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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:
At times, this makes the humble viewer feel a bit like a guinea pig in a focus group; the audience’s reactions are integral to measuring the film’s success.
From Salon โ Sep. 19, 2026
The lyric is built almost entirely from humble, monosyllabic words: a warm smile, a soft cheek, a laugh that wrinkles the nose.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 18, 2026
But until you know them, stay humble and keep your bets small.
From MarketWatch โ Sep. 15, 2026
His offensive line coach, Chris Ward, is less humble when talking about his best player.
From Los Angeles Times โ Sep. 13, 2026
He liked to entice me into lies: “Gorgeous necktie,” he’d say, “that’s a Hermès, isn’t it?”—and then, when I assented, reach quickly across the lunch table and expose my poor tie’s humble lineage.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
This chafes against the restraint demanded by his current role, which has historically been carried out in humbler fashion.
From Slate โ Jun. 11, 2026
For investors still betting on the next Keytruda, it means a humbler arithmetic.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Jun. 6, 2026
Gilgamesh’s lament is not the stylized keening of epic tradition—not Achilles’ highfalutin howls after Hector strikes down Patroclus—but something rawer, humbler, more recognizably human.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Apr. 24, 2026
Finding only disappointment, she returned home humbler but no less determined.
From Los Angeles Times โ Aug. 9, 2024
When I saw the four-roomed house, I was surprised by how much smaller and humbler it was than I remembered it being.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Lamarck disputed this, arguing “that life at its essence is creative agency, that living beings, especially the smallest and humblest of them, continually remake the world,” as well as themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Mar. 20, 2026
The book follows that sentiment, with produce-focused, elevated dishes that are simple to prepare but bodacious in flavor and color, all made with with the humblest of ingredients.
From Salon โ May 2, 2024
Will, the humblest member of our group of five heroes, learned last episode that he is dying of Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
From New York Times โ Mar. 22, 2024
Hansons Auctioneers, in Banbury, Oxfordshire, said it was an "astonishing" price for "the humblest Christmas tree in the world".
From BBC โ Dec. 15, 2023
The queen’s men outnumbered the queen’s ladies three to one, so even the humblest serving girls were pressed into the dance.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
The sprawling, splendiferous, aging metropolis is not an easy place to manage and it humbles all its would-be saviors.
From Los Angeles Times โ Apr. 11, 2026
He has a flop with his film, “Big Top Pee-wee,” which humbles him.
From Salon โ Jan. 30, 2025
“The game’s so hard and it humbles you so much, we’re taught and kind of trained to keep your eye on what’s in the present,” Counsell said.
From Washington Times โ Sep. 27, 2023
Nice to see that the scale of the event humbles even the most royal of rock's royalty.
From BBC โ Jun. 26, 2023
The pattern of evolutionary causality is a web of astonishing complexity; the incompleteness of our understanding humbles us.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
She "looked suitably humbled and tearful" as she emerged, he said, going on to praise the stage direction.
From BBC โ Sep. 13, 2026
Chancellor Friedrich Merz sounded both humbled and defiant when he addressed his party’s defeat on Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 7, 2026
I am humbled that you’d ask me for a third opinion.
From MarketWatch โ Aug. 14, 2026
“I was humbled and blown away by the incredible response to the opening of ‘The Mad King,’” co-producer Simon Painter said Monday.
From Los Angeles Times โ Aug. 10, 2026
Yet he looked at me from beneath his red-checkered keffiyeh with eyes burning fiercely, refusing to be humbled by his age.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
It was humbling to see how the AI got my friend to open up in a way that I hadn’t, and I recognized that its questions were much more helpful than my answers.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 12, 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 โ Sep. 9, 2026
The fumble with the NFL was a humbling experience for Iger, who is a lifelong passionate sports fan.
From Los Angeles Times โ Aug. 12, 2026
But it’s a humbling reminder that taxes cut even the greatest investors down to size—and your financial adviser isn’t David Swensen.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Jul. 31, 2026
It felt mortifying and also humbling to be among those people waiting for drips.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ยฉ Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritageยฎ Idioms Dictionary copyright ยฉ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
