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
Kelsey Stiegman, Glamour, 27 Mar. 2026
That’s just a bunch of blather, says your humble scribe, who has been covering government in this state for four decades.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Holden Seidlitz, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026
That experience is incredibly empowering and humbling.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humble
Adjective
Square silk scarves look great over dresses, blazers, and, of course, the humble white tee.
—Kelsey Stiegman, Glamour, 27 Mar. 2026
That’s just a bunch of blather, says your humble scribe, who has been covering government in this state for four decades.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Verb
Petzold had arrived arrogant and entitled; confronted by the technical ability and imagination of his peers, he was humbled, then stultified.
—Holden Seidlitz, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026
That experience is incredibly empowering and humbling.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humble
Adjective
-
That included a meek loss in Toronto, with Murray not participating on the second night of a back-to-back following a blowout loss at Detroit.—
Law Murray,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The other, meek and mild-mannered.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Customers in Upper Chichester, Lower Chichester, Marcus Hook and Twin Oaks, might experience low to no water pressure as the main break affects the area.—
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
While the data show overall birth outcomes improving — declining rates of prematurity, low birth weight, and infant mortality — disparities are still prevalent, particularly for Black women.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
-
Well, everyone in show business has to humiliate themselves sometimes.—
Katherine Turman,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
-
But some Cubans still revere the 1959 revolution, and, as one foreign official told us, have no desire to humiliate Raúl Castro (Fidel’s 94-year-old brother and a former president), or even Díaz-Canel, who is widely viewed as a weak bureaucrat.—
Sarah Fitzpatrick,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The other point is how the Marlins could replace a player of Alcantara’s talent for that modest-by-baseball-standards salary.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Set a modest milestone for today, then show your work to someone who can offer kind feedback.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Moreover, Munis said, with enough notice a heavy-hitting Democrat might have entered the contest, instead of the lowly bunch now running hopeless campaigns.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Such is the suffering of the lowly expendables, but spoils of war for the oligarchy of greed and power.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
This was Tottenham’s best performance under their Croatian head coach, which is admittedly not saying a huge amount given the previous four included at least three abject humiliations.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
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Enrigue is an erudite, charismatic raconteur—the sort who will tell you the most abject story with a wink—and his novel distills a byzantine swirl of historical events through the lives of a handful of very colorful characters.—
Carolina A. Miranda,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Dublin congressman told KRON that the White House hopes to discredit him in the race as a frequent critic and to boost the chances of his Republican rivals.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
29 Mar. 2026
-
That is certainly one way to discredit someone.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humble. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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