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
Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 4 June 2026
Even the set for Simon’s modest apartment on Lexington Avenue evoked Cretton’s humble beginnings.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026
Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 1 June 2026
Brad Stevens admitted last month, after the Celtics followed up an excellent regular season with a humbling first-round loss to Philadelphia, that Boston did not have the talent to compete with the NBA’s true championship contenders.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for humble
Adjective
Ikeda’s, which has a location in Auburn and another in Davis, started out in 1950 as a humble fruit stand off Highway 40, opened by the late Sam Ikeda.
—Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 4 June 2026
Even the set for Simon’s modest apartment on Lexington Avenue evoked Cretton’s humble beginnings.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026
Verb
Travelers tempted by truly untouched wilderness—the kind that leaves you humbled, awestruck, and nearly speechless—often find themselves on a never-ending search seeking more remote, more untamed, and more extreme places.
—Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 1 June 2026
Brad Stevens admitted last month, after the Celtics followed up an excellent regular season with a humbling first-round loss to Philadelphia, that Boston did not have the talent to compete with the NBA’s true championship contenders.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 1 June 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
-
Of course, all of this convenient acquiescence will sound familiar in the United States, where our own Congress and Department of Justice have been nothing if not servile to a brazenly corrupt executive.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
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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
Verb
-
As long as Iran doesn’t humiliate Trump by restarting its nuclear program, the president can call it a win.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
-
In the ongoing fight for women’s equal rights, Pawol had proved a female baseball umpire can be second-guessed, proved wrong and humiliated by technology and mocked by howling fans on social media just like a man can.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
2 June 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
-
Holding on to him and failing to make the playoffs would be an abject disaster, even given the fact that the Tigers could extend a qualifying offer at season’s end.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
-
Our original predictions about the abject lack of viability have been proven regrettably accurate.—
Jon Coupal,
Oc Register,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
If anything, they’ve been used to discredit her.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
-
Defense attorney Tom Mesereau was an expert at discrediting witnesses, subjects told the filmmakers, but certain key witnesses, like Janet Arvizo, struggled to connect with the jury on their own.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humble. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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