Synonyms of humble

humble 1 of 5

adjective (1)

ˈhəm-bəl 

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

• meek
• modest
• unassuming
• unaffected
• lowly
• timid
• down-to-earth
• unpretentious
• naive
• demure
• shy
• simple
• quiet
• passive
• deferential
• subdued
• submissive
• unassertive
• acquiescent
• compliant
• resigned
• unaggressive
• plain
• ingenuous
• bashful
• reserved
• unobtrusive
• diffident
• yielding
• sheepish
• shrinking
• retiring
• introverted
• mousy
• self-effacing
• cowering
• cringing
• self-deprecating
• self-deprecatory
• aw-shucks
• overmodest

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• arrogant
• haughty
• superior
• pretentious
• pompous
• conceited
• presumptuous
• supercilious
• imperious
• bumptious
• aggressive
• egotistic
• impudent
• assertive
• high-and-mighty
• confident
• uppity
• bold
• peremptory
• audacious
• cheeky
• lordly
• uppish
• forward
• huffy
• saucy
• brash
• cocky
• impertinent
• highfalutin
• high-handed
• brassy
• high-hat
• overweening
• smug
• chesty
• presuming
• egocentric
• overconfident
• prideful
• narcissistic
• hubristic
• cocksure
• boastful
• vain
• egoistic
• dominant
• self-assertive
• hoity-toity
• bombastic
• huffish
• vainglorious
• toplofty
• self-asserting
• condescending
• fastuous
• disdainful
• domineering
• self-confident
• patronizing
• showy
• swaggering
• flamboyant
• overbearing
• magisterial
• self-centered
• ostentatious
• dominating
• self-important
• self-complacent
• self-contented
• self-satisfied
• self-conceited
• outgoing
• stuck-up
• uninhibited
• self-congratulatory
• self-engrossed
• self-obsessed
• braggy
• self-affected
• self-pleased
• immodest
• swelled-headed
• unreserved
• extroverted
• pontificating

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• low
• lowly
• plebeian
• ignoble
• proletarian
• unwashed
• lower-class
• common
• poor
• vulgar
• inferior
• low-life
• lumpen
• mean
• lowborn
• prole
• simple
• middle-class
• baseborn
• bourgeois
• plain
• working-class
• déclassé
• downscale
• down-market

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gentle
• noble
• great
• lofty
• high
• aristocratic
• grand
• genteel
• patrician
• upper-class
• prominent
• upper-crust
• illustrious
• eminent
• notable
• highborn
• blue-blooded
• highbred
• wellborn

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• meek
• servile
• abject
• menial
• base
• slavish
• modest
• unassuming
• sheepish
• lowly
• hangdog
• unpretentious
• retiring
• lamblike
• sycophantic
• demure
• fawning
• sycophant
• toadyish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• arrogant
• haughty
• superior
• supercilious
• imperious
• uppity
• lordly
• high-handed

humble

2 of 5

verb (1)

ˈhəm-bəl 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• humiliate
• discredit
• embarrass
• shame
• disgrace
• insult
• confuse
• demean
• take down
• dishonor
• degrade
• abase
• rattle
• criticize
• chasten
• cheapen
• debase
• lower
• smirch
• sink
• foul
• diminish
• ridicule
• disparage
• mortify
• minimize
• detract
• confound
• belittle
• faze
• affront
• discount
• disconcert
• write off
• condemn
• discountenance
• malign
• nonplus
• slander
• decry
• abash
• fluster
• depreciate
• cry down
• damn
• put down
• discomfit
• libel
• defame
• castigate
• defile
• bad-mouth
• denounce
• censure
• reprobate
• execrate
• reprehend

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• honor
• exalt
• praise
• elevate
• commend
• salute
• congratulate
• applaud
• recognize
• boast
• compliment
• cheer
• celebrate
• acknowledge
• aggrandize
• laud
• decorate
• deify
• canonize
• extol
• acclaim
• hail
• eulogize
• cite
• tout
• fete
• highlight
• spotlight
• dignify
• glorify
• ennoble
• play up
• promote
• lift
• raise
• uplift
• magnify
• advance
• enthrone
• enshrine
• boost
• upgrade
• idealize
• romanticize
• ensky

humbling

3 of 5

adjective (2)

as in humiliating

Related Words

• humiliating
• demeaning
• degrading
• mortifying
• unsettling
• difficult
• impossible
• unpleasant
• debasing
• confusing
• embarrassing
• troublesome
• intolerable
• inconvenient
• disagreeable
• unwieldy
• disconcerting
• uncomfortable
• disturbing
• discomfiting
• awkward
• flustering

Dissimilar Words

• convenient
• comfortable
• agreeable
• pleasing

humbling

4 of 5

noun

as in humiliation

Related Words

• humiliation
• abasement
• degradation
• dust
• debasing
• debasement
• disapproval
• contempt
• disapprobation
• blot
• disdain
• stigma
• despite
• stain
• deprecation
• taint
• scorn
• slur
• brand
• disfavor
• scandal
• spot
• shame
• ignominy
• disgrace
• smirch
• discredit
• shadow
• dishonor
• infamy
• disrepute
• reproach
• opprobrium
• odium
• obloquy
• disesteem

Dissimilar Words

• respect
• honor
• esteem
• appreciation
• regard
• admiration
• estimation
• fear
• awe
• glory
• reverence
• fame
• renown
• repute

humbling

5 of 5

verb (2)

present participle of humble

as in discrediting

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• humiliating
• discrediting
• embarrassing
• degrading
• confusing
• shaming
• insulting
• chastening
• demeaning
• disgracing
• debasing
• rattling
• abasing
• dishonoring
• taking down
• mortifying
• cheapening
• disconcerting
• lowering
• fouling
• criticizing
• diminishing
• discomfiting
• disparaging
• belittling
• sinking
• ridiculing
• confounding
• smirching
• minimizing
• detracting
• discounting
• depreciating
• flustering
• condemning
• damning
• affronting
• decrying
• castigating
• slandering
• maligning
• writing off
• nonplussing
• abashing
• fazing
• defaming
• defiling
• libeling
• crying down
• putting down
• discountenancing
• denouncing
• censuring
• bad-mouthing
• execrating
• reprehending
• reprobating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• exalting
• elevating
• cheering
• praising
• recognizing
• honoring
• commending
• aggrandizing
• applauding
• acknowledging
• citing
• celebrating
• congratulating
• deifying
• boasting
• lauding
• complimenting
• extolling
• hailing
• saluting
• decorating
• acclaiming
• canonizing
• eulogizing
• touting
• highlighting
• uplifting
• ennobling
• dignifying
• lifting
• spotlighting
• promoting
• glorifying
• magnifying
• advancing
• feting
• playing up
• raising
• enthroning
• enshrining
• upgrading
• boosting
• idealizing
• romanticizing
• enskying

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of humble

Adjective

These humble baubles once evoked summer-camp nostalgia and antique-purse collections; now, they’re affixed to viral sensations, designer duds, and semi-precious fine jewelry. — Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 5 Aug. 2026

Whether topped with butter and jam, layered with peanut butter, crowned with avocado and eggs or transformed into a hearty breakfast sandwich, this humble bread has become a staple in kitchens across the country. — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

Verb

So far, the process of sourcing a new Italy coach has been humbling. — James Horncastle, New York Times, 28 July 2026

Building hardware as a company with zero track record is hard enough, and inventing an entirely new class of device for AI is a goal that has already humbled some startups and burned hundreds of millions of dollars in investors’ cash. — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 22 July 2026

Adjective

Being on an island starving is very humbling. — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026

Those listeners are the ones who are our backbone, which is very humbling. — Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 17 Oct. 2025

Noun

Quite sadly, but with a certain element of poetic justice, the American team’s 4-1 humbling by Belgium was the opposite broader effect that Trump evidently but delusionally had in mind. — Vahe Gregorian july 7, Kansas City Star, 7 July 2026

Nellie may be a city girl, but she's headed for a country-style humbling, and the Ingalls girls' country roots are the only things strong enough to anchor the show for close to a decade. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026

Verb

Watching a mother turtle haul herself ashore under a canopy of stars to lay her eggs is a truly primal and humbling sight. — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 5 July 2026

But what Connecticut got was the top golfer in the world, at his very best at times, yet bitten in the end by the humbling nature of the most humbling of games. — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2026