1
as in average
being about midway between extremes of amount or size
he was awarded a modest pension when he retired
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pure
free from any trace of the coarse or indecent
tended to wear more modest swimsuits than the thong-clad guests at the resort
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in shy
not comfortable around people
a modest winner who said a quick thank-you and promptly left the stage
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in humble
not having or showing any feelings of superiority, self-assertiveness, or showiness
appealingly modest about her success in the fashion industry
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of modest
Very few bills with even a modest price tag survived its horizon, limiting lawmakers’ ambitions.
—
Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 15 May 2026
The Stag’s Leap cabernet and the Chateau Montelena chardonnay were priced at a modest ~$6 per bottle and earned rave reviews locally when they were released in 1975.
—Mark Dent, HubSpot, 15 May 2026
The episode then jumps ahead six months to find the family resettled on yet another modest ranch in Ria Paloma, Texas.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 15 May 2026
For the next 11 years, the hotel enjoyed modest success and attracted many of Miami’s most famous personalities.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for modest
Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 15 May 2026
The Stag’s Leap cabernet and the Chateau Montelena chardonnay were priced at a modest ~$6 per bottle and earned rave reviews locally when they were released in 1975.
—Mark Dent, HubSpot, 15 May 2026
The episode then jumps ahead six months to find the family resettled on yet another modest ranch in Ria Paloma, Texas.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 15 May 2026
For the next 11 years, the hotel enjoyed modest success and attracted many of Miami’s most famous personalities.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for modest
Recent Examples of Synonyms for modest
Adjective
-
Good for 79 runs of production above an average player, per FanGraphs.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
Even then, savings for average drivers aren’t huge.—
Wyatte Grantham-Philips,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
The sun and moon appear almost the same size in our sky by pure coincidence.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
10 May 2026
-
Bubble Up has a more natural taste than many of its competitors because it’s made with pure cane sugar and lemon and lime oils, rather than high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors, The Tasting Table reported.—
Teresa Mull,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
Morrow was especially dominant in the second, putting up 10 points and six rebounds to come just shy of a second straight first-half double-double.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2026
-
Maglares finished one out shy of a complete game for the Rockets in a 4-2 Fox Valley Conference win.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
The chef Gregory Gourdet, the son of Haitian immigrants, approaches France from the view of the colonies, moving from Vietnam to Louisiana but ever circling back to the Caribbean and its wealth of plantains, salt cod, Scotch bonnets, pikliz and not-so-humble rice and beans.—
Ligaya Mishan,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
-
After years of seeing Spirit lure leisure travellers, the major airlines, led by Delta, responded with humble basic-economy fares of their own.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
In 2024, the median home price in California topped $800,000, which is double the national median.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
Mamdani intends to cut the median time for approvals from 210 to to 100 days via a mix of simplifying income verification, speeding up the process for lottery winners to be selected, and streamlining the applications, among other things.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
The vibes in the streets are immaculate as the Knicks continue to roll at the Garden and the city keeps shedding its scaffolding, block by block.—
Jesse Kirshbaum,
SPIN,
15 May 2026
-
With a nod to its namesake, French printer Firmin Didot, the interiors are immaculate with contemporary wooden-block four-posters and a secret bookcase bathroom door in one room.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
The typically quiet, withdrawn student seemed more engaged in his first-period class than usual, English teacher Sarah Murer told investigators.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
1 May 2026
-
The withdrawn draft focused on setting up several new watchdogs to keep AI in check, including a dedicated commission and a special insurance fund to help people if the new technology caused harm.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
29 Apr. 2026
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
Cite this Entry
“Modest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/modest. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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