modest

mod·est

adjective \ˈmä-dəst\

Definition of MODEST

1

a : placing a moderate estimate on one's abilities or worth

b : neither bold nor self-assertive : tending toward diffidence

2

: arising from or characteristic of a modest nature

3

: observing the proprieties of dress and behavior : decent

4

a : limited in size, amount, or scope <a family of modest means>

b : unpretentious <a modest home>

— mod·est·ly adverb

Examples of MODEST

1. They own a modest home near the beach.
2. She enjoyed modest success with her singing career.
3. He earns a modest income.
4. We live on a modest budget.
5. New cars are now available at relatively modest prices.
6. He has only a modest amount of knowledge on the subject.
7. It is a book of only modest importance.
8. She's very modest about her achievements.
9. Don't be so modest. Your performance was wonderful!
10. “I'm not a hero. I was just doing my job,” he said in his characteristically modest way.
11. The foundry work was grueling, but for a little longer Brierfield afforded these African Americans a way station of modest freedom and a residue of authentic independence that was fast disappearing for most rural blacks. —Douglas A. Blackmon, Slavery By Another Name, 2008
12. … these remnants he lacked the will to discard, depressed him, deepening the low fever of depression in which even as modest a task as removing a blue doorknob loomed like a mountain almost impossible to climb. —John Updike, Harper's, October 2004
13. You're the hero, so then you have to behave in a certain way—there is a prescription for it. You have to be modest, you have to be forbearing, you have to be deferential, you have to be understanding. —Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997

Origin of MODEST

Latin modestus moderate; akin to Latin modus measure

First Known Use: 1565

Related to MODEST

Synonyms

average, intermediate, mean, median, medium, middling, midsize (also midsized), moderate, middle

Antonyms

coarse, dirty, filthy, immodest, impure, indecent, obscene, smutty, unchaste, unclean, vulgar

Related Words

reasonable; common, commonplace, conventional, normal, popular, regular, routine, standard, typical, usual; adequate, passable, tolerable

Near Antonyms

excessive, extreme; exceptional, rare, strange, uncommon, unusual; distinctive, idiosyncratic, special, unique; individual, peculiar, private

See Synonym Discussion at shy, chaste