1
as in meek
not having or showing any feelings of superiority, self-assertiveness, or showiness
a medical scientist who remained remarkably humble even after winning the Nobel Prize even though she'd been proven wrong, her attitude was still far from humble
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a humble peasant girl who claimed she was chosen by God to restore the French king to his throne
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3
as in servile
showing, expressing, or offered in a spirit of humility or unseemly submissiveness
please accept my humble thanks for this unexpected favor
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
Philip was utterly humbled by a crushing defeat in the first round of the state chess tournament
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of humble
Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 9 May 2025
In a society that often equates American influence with might or money or celebrity, now our foremost representative on the global stage is a humble man in white robes, preaching love, justice, and mercy.
—Christopher Hale, Time, 9 May 2025
Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
Unsurprisingly, the two years in Russia humbled him.
—Kara Warner, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humble
Adjective
This is the peace of the Risen Christ, an unarmed and disarming peace, humble and persevering.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 9 May 2025
In a society that often equates American influence with might or money or celebrity, now our foremost representative on the global stage is a humble man in white robes, preaching love, justice, and mercy.
—Christopher Hale, Time, 9 May 2025
Verb
There are dozens of anecdotes about humbling first jobs and dealing with rejection.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
Unsurprisingly, the two years in Russia humbled him.
—Kara Warner, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humble
Adjective
-
According to the latest report from L.A.’s film office, production days on location decreased more than 22 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared with an already meek period in 2024.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
2 May 2025
-
Democrats, unable either to diagnose or to admit to their own failings, measured their victories in the meekest of triumphs, and seemed to have lost all sense of purpose, direction, and proportion.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Abarth is low cost, high return and should be encouraged.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
20 May 2025
-
Still the newcomers flood in, attracted by the climate, lake and lower cost of living than other parts of the country.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
So Alex dons a uniform, buses tables and engages in servile labor for the first time in her life.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
23 Mar. 2025
-
Trump’s servile devotion to Putin becomes the new norm overnight as Republicans cower in support of Trump’s new Putin policy.—
Bob Kustra,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The writer-director’s smartest move is never to deny Colin his dignity, even when he’s humiliated for disappointing Ray or getting vigorously plowed on a table.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
18 May 2025
-
But who among us has not had a little marital spat over one person buying an entire hospital just to humiliate the other?—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
As one sign of the modest pace of progress, just 2,021 permits to install new heating and cooling systems have been filed since 2017.—
Jonathan Bowles,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2025
-
The news sent stock indexes to their highest levels in weeks, before ending the day with more modest gains.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
Cannes offers up so many memories for even us lowly mortals.—
Jim Dobson,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
-
Going Dutch stars Leary as Colonel Patrick Quinn, a hard-nosed military man who gets assigned to oversee a lowly service base in the Netherlands.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
7 May 2025
Adjective
-
Not even Roy Hodgson received this kind of treatment in the dark days of the 2010-11 season as his abject side lurched towards a relegation battle.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
-
The story of this production is like an inversion of the play’s: Oldman, 67, fondly revisiting a haunt of his youth in the twilight of an illustrious career, plays Krapp, an unsuccessful writer who, on his 69th birthday, looks back at his past self and sees only abject failure.—
Houman Barekat,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The attempts to discredit women like Ventura discount the reality of their lives, Gee said.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
13 May 2025
-
But in a possible attempt to discredit Pryor, her name and some details of her confidential complaint, available only to the mayor, commissioners and senior city employees, have been circulated publicly.—
Steve Bousquet,
Sun Sentinel,
10 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Humble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humble. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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