humility
noun
Louisa ThomasChris Barbin
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Humility: Its Use and Meaning
Humility means “the state of being humble.” Both it and humble have their origin in the Latin word humilis, meaning "low."
Humble can be used to describe what is ranked low by others, as in "persons of humble origins." People also use the word of themselves and things associated with themselves; if you describe yourself as "but a humble editor" or refer to your home as your "humble abode," you are saying that neither you nor your home is very impressive.
Like this latter use of humble, the kind of lowness expressed in the word humility is typically one chosen by oneself. Here are some examples of humility in use:
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
— Proverbs 11:2A sudden humility descended upon the King. He felt, as so many men were to feel in similar circumstances in ages to come, as though he were a child looking eagerly for guidance to an all-wise master—a child, moreover, handicapped by water on the brain, feet three sizes too large for him, and hands consisting mainly of thumbs.
— P. G. Wodehouse, The Clicking of Cuthbert, 1922Eating grits and fatback for breakfast and washing up every morning in cold water from a hydrant in the backyard helped one learn humility and humanity.
— Julius Lester, Falling Pieces of Broken Sky, 1990I realize now that she had an awareness of the nature of the order of life, and of the necessity of living with and respecting that order. With this respect comes a necessary humility that we, with our early-21st-century chutzpah, lack at our peril.
— Bill Joy, Wired, April 2000Who has not gazed at the night sky, mouth slightly agape? The experience is so common, its effects so uniform, that a standard vocabulary has evolved to describe it. Invariably we speak of the profound humility we feel before the enormity of the universe. We are as bits of dust in a spectacle whose scope beggars the imagination, whose secrets make a mockery of reason.
— Edwin Dobb, Harper's, February 1995If leadership has a secret sauce, it may well be humility. A humble boss understands that there are things he doesn't know. He listens: not only to the other bigwigs in Davos, but also to the kind of people who don't get invited, such as his customers.
—The Economist, 26 Jan. 2013
For many, the lowness in both humility and humble is something worth cultivating.
Examples of humility in a Sentence
Nandika Chatterjee, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
That can be accomplished with good taste and humility.
—Jade Moyano, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
Nathan Hawkins, Liberty Creek High School Liberty Creek High School Counselor Amber Falise nominated senior Nathan Hawkins for his academic rigor, humility and kindness.
—Katie Nixon, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Nov. 2025
Yamamoto, as is his wont, approached that rarefied air with humility.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humility
Cite this Entry
“Humility.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humility. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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humility
noun
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