Synonyms of lowly

lowly 1 of 2

adjective

ˈlō-lē 

1

as in low

belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank

a tycoon who struggled all his life to overcome his lowly origins

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

as in meek

not having or showing any feelings of superiority, self-assertiveness, or showiness

the nuns at the convent regard themselves as lowly servants of the Lord

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

lowly

2 of 2

adverb

as in humbly

in a manner showing no signs of pride or self-assertion

lowly bowing before his king, he accepted his knighthood

Synonyms & Similar Words

• humbly
• meekly
• abjectly
• cap in hand
• deferentially
• sheepishly
• modestly
• submissively
• politely
• hat in hand
• meanly
• fearfully
• obsequiously
• servilely
• subserviently
• timidly
• diffidently
• shyly
• timorously
• bashfully
• mousily
• respectfully
• courteously
• civilly
• self-deprecatingly
• suppliantly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• proudly
• contemptuously
• boldly
• arrogantly
• loftily
• scornfully
• haughtily
• brazenly
• imperiously
• pompously
• pretentiously
• presumptuously
• superciliously
• pridefully
• audaciously
• brashly
• huffily
• fearlessly
• disdainfully
• swaggeringly
• recklessly
• self-importantly
• impertinently
• disrespectfully
• rashly
• rudely
• discourteously
• saucily
• uppishly
• ungraciously
• impudently
• uncivilly
• impolitely
• bitchily

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lowly

Adjective

Yes, Canada demolished a lowly Qatar side. — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 25 June 2026

Argentina won the last World Cup after losing its opener to lowly Saudi Arabia, Portugal won Euro 2016 after sneaking into the knockouts following three draws in the group stage and Spain won the 2010 World Cup after losing its opening match to Switzerland. — Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 21 June 2026

Adverb

Only lowly Oklahoma State, last and winless in the conference, is worse at scoring. — Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 7 Nov. 2025

Jay Kelly, despite sporting a lowly Metacritic score of 62 (out of 100), still feels like the Netflix film best positioned for a Best Picture nomination, if for no other reason than the Hollywood factor. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025