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
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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
Rachel Gallaher, Robb Report, 11 June 2025
The split unwinds the 2022 merger of CNN and HBO owner WarnerMedia with Discovery, a jumble of cable channels offering humbler fare.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 10 June 2025
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 June 2025
Nestled just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Oakmont’s reputation precedes it—steeped in history, unapologetically difficult, and purpose-built to humble even the best in the game.
—Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for humble
Adjective
From about $1,024 Lighting: Chia-Ying Lee for Lodes Random Stick
Imagined by Taiwanese designer Chia-Ying Lee for Lodes, the Random Stick is an elegant interpretation of the humble suspension lamp.
—Rachel Gallaher, Robb Report, 11 June 2025
The split unwinds the 2022 merger of CNN and HBO owner WarnerMedia with Discovery, a jumble of cable channels offering humbler fare.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 10 June 2025
Verb
The Darjeeling Limited underscores the folly of these men riding the rails with mountains of literal and metaphorical baggage in tow, and how the country humbles them before any healing can begin.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 June 2025
Nestled just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Oakmont’s reputation precedes it—steeped in history, unapologetically difficult, and purpose-built to humble even the best in the game.
—Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for humble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humble
Adjective
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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
-
Dew point values will be around 70 degrees, with heat index values climbing into the low 90s.—
Robert A. Cronkleton,
Kansas City Star,
12 June 2025
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Consuming it with supplements that have the same effect could increase the risk for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).—
Roxana Ehsani,
Health,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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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
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Ukrainians said they were subjected to beatings, electric shocks and dog attacks by Russian authorities, not only to extract information but to intimidate and humiliate them.—
Richard Engel,
NBC news,
11 June 2025
-
Musk, who also owns SpaceX, had backed Isaacman, and felt betrayed and humiliated when Trump changed his mind, according to the report.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
7 June 2025
Adjective
-
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
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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
Adjective
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What is inescapable is the lowly status women held in these aristocratic households.—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
16 June 2025
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Last year’s Dodgers only had two starters - Gavin Stone and Tyler Glasnow - exceed the lowly total of 90 innings pitched during the regular season.—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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For the most part, open-source projects weren’t evenly distributed across teams of volunteers; they were managed by at most a few individuals, who spent the bulk of their waking hours in abject thrall to a user-complaint queue.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
28 May 2025
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This false sense of security is amplified by Kat being composed enough to snark at her rescuer seconds before catastrophe, in contrast to most of Death’s victims, who spend their last moments in abject terror.—
Gayle Sequeira,
Vulture,
16 May 2025
Verb
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Trump’s team is working furiously to keep the bill going on other fronts, too: seeking to discredit Congress’s nonpartisan scorekeeper while savaging Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for resisting the bill and its debt ceiling increase.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
6 June 2025
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The White House has sought to discredit the CBO, but other groups have also presented estimates that conclude that the legislation would expand the U.S. government deficit by trillions of dollars.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Humble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humble. Accessed 21 Jun. 2025.
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