1
as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a tycoon who struggled all his life to overcome his lowly origins
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in meek
not having or showing any feelings of superiority, self-assertiveness, or showiness
the nuns at the convent regard themselves as lowly servants of the Lord
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in humbly
in a manner showing no signs of pride or self-assertion
lowly bowing before his king, he accepted his knighthood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lowly
Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
My lead character Beanie, who is sort of based on me, talked her way into being a file clerk in the lowliest corner of the industry.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 27 May 2025
Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
In Ratatouille, furry foodie Remy helps lowly garbage boy Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano) ascend the kitchen ranks of Paris' esteemed restaurant Gusteau's.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 11 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lowly
Adjective
The lowly Charlotte Hornets, who haven't made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season, have the No. 4 pick, and will happily take yet another swing at lottery gold.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
My lead character Beanie, who is sort of based on me, talked her way into being a file clerk in the lowliest corner of the industry.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 27 May 2025
Adverb
Never mind Djokovic’s relatively lowly ranking of No. 7; there are at least two opponents, in Sinner and Alcaraz, against whom Djokovic’s best tennis is no longer enough.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
In Ratatouille, furry foodie Remy helps lowly garbage boy Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano) ascend the kitchen ranks of Paris' esteemed restaurant Gusteau's.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 11 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lowly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lowly
Adjective
-
But the three-time Oscar winner makes the most out of every line reading, not by going big (a near impossibility in an Anderson movie) but by setting Felicity’s fears and annoyances to a very low simmer.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
12 June 2025
-
Steer clear of puddles - Driving into puddles or low areas of rainwater can cause vehicles to hydroplane or skid out of control.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
12 June 2025
Adjective
-
From small and relatively meek beginnings, proboscideans eventually evolved into herbivorous, elephantine giants with a broad array of different tusk arrangements and shapes.—
Riley Black,
Smithsonian Magazine,
3 Apr. 2025
-
That confidence paid off as Farrow received her first Tony nomination for her role as the initially meek homebody Sharon in the play by Jen Silverman, which ran at the Booth Theatre on Broadway from September through December 2024.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
31 May 2025
Adjective
-
This journey from her humble beginnings to icon makes sense for a contemporary audience in terms of the pop stars of today, those iconic people in popular culture.—
Sarah Crompton,
Vogue,
16 June 2025
-
Both men – Yousafzai, an education activist born in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, and Ranjit, a farmer of humble origins in a remote area of India – break from the traditions of their cultures by advocating forcefully for their daughters.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
15 June 2025
Adjective
-
This is still a modest number—less than two per cent of the total—but the number of children born to men who were forty to forty-nine more than doubled during that same timeframe.—
Jelani Cobb,
New Yorker,
14 June 2025
-
In all likelihood, the impact now would be less than in the past because our oil trade balance is positive; net exports, at 2 million barrels per day, will translate into modest but significant economic benefits.—
Michael Lynch,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2025
Adjective
-
Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Across the lake, on the plebeian side, up the shoreline a mile or so, in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, stand twin 32-story towers dubbed Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The janky but oddly addictive Friday the 13th: The Game goes offline for good at the end of the year — an ignoble but perhaps inevitable fate for an interactive slasher that’s been plagued by problems since its rocky launch in 2017.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
13 Sep. 2024
-
And bugs’ ignoble practices exert fascination on poets too.—
Hannah Brooks-Motl
June 2,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
Told that Indigenous people were evolutionarily inferior to white Europeans and Americans, visitors accepted the idea that colonialist progress would soon condemn these groups to extinction.—
Shoshi Parks,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 June 2025
-
The Pacers are just way more inferior and the Thunder got stagnant all of a sudden.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lowly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lowly. Accessed 26 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share