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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of humble
Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026
Spring gathering season is here, and the humble grain bowl is having a moment — fluffy, fast and easy to scale for a crowd.
—Sacbee.com, 15 May 2026
John Kell, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
To be able to see everything again through my daughter's eyes is so humbling and beautiful.
—Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humble
Adjective
But on Change of Plans, the outfit's newest album — out now — frontman Isaac Gibson proudly proclaims that the humble group of musicians from Castlewood finally sounds most like themselves.
—Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026
Spring gathering season is here, and the humble grain bowl is having a moment — fluffy, fast and easy to scale for a crowd.
—Sacbee.com, 15 May 2026
Verb
Shares have more than tripled since that humbling moment and the gain came last week when Intel reported strong first-quarter results due to growing demand for CPUs.
—John Kell, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
To be able to see everything again through my daughter's eyes is so humbling and beautiful.
—Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humble
Adjective
-
This anger crackles around him like a smoldering fire, igniting and engulfing everyone from the workers on his farm, his meek sister Férula (Fernanda Castillo), to Clara and, eventually, to their daughter, Blanca (Sara Becker and later Fernanda Urrejola), Alba’s idealistic mother.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
This is especially important for low-income communities and others who rely heavily on the shot for contraception.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
Not since Oakland Hills in 2008 — Jeev Milkha Singh and Robert Karlsson at 2-under 68 — has the low score to par after the first round of the PGA Championship been worse than 3 under.—
Doug Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 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
-
In another case, a witness described discovering the body of a man whose genitals had been severed, lying beside the body of a woman holding them, in what the report described as an apparent effort to degrade and humiliate the victims.—
Amelie Botbol,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
-
Those who don’t get the job leave diminished, sometimes humiliated, and the institution absorbs the damage quietly for years.—
Paul Hardart,
Fortune,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
Ocean Casino Resort stakes its claim directly on the Atlantic City Boardwalk with views of a ferris wheel and lighthouse as though to remind you of the city’s modest beachtown origins.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
-
Aikens has a modest staff, including a host and a house dom, a professional dominant who performs demonstrations such as flogging and wax play for the 30-and-over crowd.—
Victoria M. Walker,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
Who could possibly be lower than the lowly thieves?—
Ryan Huling,
Time,
7 May 2026
-
The Mets have endured a 12-game losing streak and have lost their last five out of six games to the lowly Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
And yet somehow, his fans don’t read these abject failures the same way the rest of us do.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
So maybe his experience will be the abject lesson now.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
John paid a visit to his former lover and demanded that Percy sign an affidavit and confess to his involvement in the kidnapping, as well as discredit the allegations about John's sexuality.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
-
The case later drew attention from the Innocence Project, which said advances in DNA testing ultimately discredited the prosecution’s core forensic evidence.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humble. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
