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
Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
Over a half-century later, that humble staging of the Godspell musical paved the way for Martin, a Tony Award-winning stage actress for My Favorite Year and Pippin.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026
Cam'ron Hardy, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
Especially since the most anguishing and arduous steps often are acknowledging the issue and humbling oneself to reach out.
—Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for humble
Adjective
Born to a humble family in the twilight years of the shogunate, Higuchi Natsuko (as she was born) was the fourth child and second daughter of a man with scholarly inclinations, who as a farmer had come to the capital to seek both fortune and rank.
—Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
Over a half-century later, that humble staging of the Godspell musical paved the way for Martin, a Tony Award-winning stage actress for My Favorite Year and Pippin.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026
Verb
The achievement was both an honor and humbling for him, Lehman said.
—Cam'ron Hardy, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
Especially since the most anguishing and arduous steps often are acknowledging the issue and humbling oneself to reach out.
—Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for humble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humble
Adjective
-
Their 1-1 draw instead brought a meek defence of their Premier League title to an end.—
Luke Bosher,
New York Times,
24 May 2026
-
Gone was the meek servant child, replaced by a confident woman who remained composed during aggressive cross-examination.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
The rulings do not clear the former paramedics of wrongdoing but return the cases to the lower court for a possible retrial.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
5 June 2026
-
The tech contagion spread to stocks in Asia, dragging key indexes lower.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
Adjective
-
That this man’s-man tough guy becomes utterly servile in the presence of a bunch of slack-casual bazillionaires is the cherry on top of the fascist sundae.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Julia was the first weekly TV series that starred a Black woman in a role that wasn't servile.—
Starr Rocque,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Linda Hyde, a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards member since 2014, boarded her Southwest flight on May 21 at Miami International Airport humiliated and angry.—
Ella Moore
Updated May 29,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
-
Strength is not the capacity to humiliate someone with less power.—
Marc Brackett,
Hartford Courant,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
Cal Fire still holds a modest annual budget for wildfire mitigation work.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
-
Frankly, his ambitions are modest, and this sits well with us.—
Mercury News Editorial Board,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Going through all the trials and tribulations of growing up like any other human on Earth, Adam is completely frustrated about losing his sword all those years ago and can’t stop trying to find it, even to the point of threatening his lowly job in the quest.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
2 June 2026
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All West Virginia had to do was dispatch their lowly rivals, the Pittsburgh Panthers, in The Backyard Brawl and they were guaranteed a spot in the title game.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
Adjective
-
Our original predictions about the abject lack of viability have been proven regrettably accurate.—
Jon Coupal,
Oc Register,
25 May 2026
-
West Ham are relegated, sorry Spurs survive The odds were stacked against West Ham United beating relegation yesterday and even in a year when Tottenham Hotspur plumbed appallingly abject depths, few clubs deserved it more.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
After the war, his goalscoring statistics were deleted and his achievements were discredited, with the Polish press labelling him as mentally unstable and an alcoholic.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
-
Hit men are dispatched, homicide takes hold, and a smear campaign is hatched to discredit Zaminsky as faking signals to keep his SETI gig.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humble. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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