Definition of HUMILITY

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 11:2

A 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, 1922

Eating 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, 1990

I 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 2000

Who 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 1995

If 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

He accepted the honor with humility. The ordeal taught her humility.

Recent Examples on the Web

If life is designed to humble us in the face of time, there is joy in that humility. — Dave Shiflett, WSJ, "‘Been So Long’ Review: Born to Wander," 7 Sep. 2018 Those Bush values are definable in words such as temperance, self-restraint, plain-speaking, honesty, duty, forbearance, humility, prudence, courage. — Daniel Henninger, WSJ, "Trump Didn’t Kill the Bush Values," 5 Dec. 2018 Its transparent efforts are based in humility, integrity and community voice. — John Benson, cleveland.com, "Lakewood seeking volunteers for Healthy Lakewood Foundation," 30 Apr. 2018 In my estimation, the values that matter in journalism are somewhat more old-fashioned: diligence, fairness, humility, and craft. — David Roberts, Vox, "My advice for aspiring explainer journalists," 9 Dec. 2018 Baker spoke of Bush’s humbleness humility, and sense of humor. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "Reba McEntire Gives Moving Performance of 'The Lord's Prayer' at George H.W. Bush's Funeral," 6 Dec. 2018 There's the remarkably mature over-achiever, two years younger than her classmates, who's just learning her first inklings of humility (in part by losing in these competitions). — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "See Science Fair even if you’ve never entered one in your life," 16 Sep. 2018 Above all, Reynolds’s entire persona was that of a laidback, confident, manly man, complete with swagger, a touch of false humility, and a flair for living wild. — Aja Romano, Vox, "Burt Reynolds, ’70s icon and movie star, is dead at 82," 6 Sep. 2018 Max Weber wrote that politics is work that requires humility and care because the exercise of power over others puts your own soul at risk. — Steve Israel, chicagotribune.com, "What's the greatest book about politics? Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich and others weigh in.," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'humility.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.