Synonyms of modest

modest

adjective

ˈmä-dəst 

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

• average
• median
• moderate
• reasonable
• typical
• middle
• medium
• intermediate
• middling
• midsize
• normal
• adequate
• mean
• standard
• usual
• regular
• conventional
• common
• routine
• popular
• tolerable
• commonplace
• passable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• excessive
• extreme
• unusual
• special
• rare
• strange
• exceptional
• uncommon
• unique
• private
• distinctive
• individual
• peculiar
• idiosyncratic

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

• pure
• immaculate
• decent
• chaste
• clean
• decorous
• virginal
• vestal
• G-rated
• virgin
• harmless
• proper
• spotless
• unblemished
• unsullied
• tasteful
• lily-white
• untarnished
• stainless
• refined
• unsoiled
• seemly
• untainted
• innocuous
• unspotted
• cultivated
• unstained
• undefiled
• inoffensive
• innocent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• obscene
• coarse
• indecent
• immodest
• vulgar
• filthy
• dirty
• unclean
• impure
• unchaste
• improper
• smutty
• stained
• soiled
• spotted
• unseemly
• blemished
• tarnished
• crude
• tainted
• indelicate
• indecorous
• ribald
• tacky
• tasteless
• unrefined
• sullied
• defiled

3

as in shy

not comfortable around people

a modest winner who said a quick thank-you and promptly left the stage

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shy
• withdrawn
• lone
• bashful
• diffident
• sheepish
• demure
• coy
• backward
• retiring
• recessive
• introverted
• self-effacing
• awkward
• reserved
• embarrassed
• antisocial
• unsocial
• unsociable
• unassertive
• lone-wolf
• unadventurous
• uneasy
• inhibited
• self-conscious
• uptight
• unenterprising

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• immodest
• outgoing
• social
• extroverted
• convivial
• sociable
• gregarious
• companionable
• boon
• forceful
• bold
• dashing
• uninhibited
• forward
• clubbable
• brash
• unreserved
• overbold

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonym Chooser

How is the word modest distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of modest are chaste, decent, and pure. While all these words mean "free from all taint of what is lewd or salacious," modest and decent apply especially to deportment and dress as outward signs of inward chastity or purity.

preferred more modest swimsuits

decent people didn't go to such movies

When is it sensible to use chaste instead of modest?

While the synonyms chaste and modest are close in meaning, chaste primarily implies a refraining from acts or even thoughts or desires that are not virginal or not sanctioned by marriage vows.

they maintained chaste relations

How do pure and chaste relate to one another, in the sense of modest?

Pure differs from chaste in implying innocence and absence of temptation rather than control of one's impulses and actions.

the pure of heart

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of modest

In fact, OpenAI initially used a smaller team of agents to prove an intermediate result, and some experts say that this more modest squad did follow the program. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2026

At least a modest counterterrorism mission, and counterterrorism cooperation with regional partners, will remain necessary. — Philip H. Gordon, Foreign Affairs, 12 Oct. 2026

Waymos came and went at all hours, bringing lights, noise, and traffic past a block of modest apartments. — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Inside that modest location, the family’s gold business developed over nearly two decades and reached its third generation. — Li Jun, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026