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Modest: Ever So Humble
When used to modify a sum or amount, or to mean "unpretentious," modest conveys a sense of not being excessive:
Captives received a modest salary of $0.80 per day, working at farms around Sonoma County picking apples, prunes, hops and other crops.
Janet Balicki, The Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat, 8 Dec. 2016The minister of foreign affairs drove up in a modest car and joined our conversation.
Michael Taussig, Vice, 22 June 2016
The adjective humble is often used this way too, as when one speaks of "one's humble abode." Both words can be used in a humorous way that might be seen as self-deprecating.
Like humble, modest adequately describe one who does not boast about one's achievements, thereby avoiding a different kind of excessiveness:
Louisa May Alcott was always modest about her gifts; whatever early dreams of genius she might have nourished had been knocked out of her years before her literary fame arrived.
Barbara L. Packer, The New York Times Book Review, 25 Oct. 1987Soft-spoken and modest in conversation, Knoll would be accomplished enough with his visual-effects credits in movies alone.
Julie Hinds, The Detroit Free Press, 11 Dec. 2016
Examples of modest in a Sentence
John Updike, Harper's, October 2004
You're the hero, so then you have to behave in a certain way—there is a prescription for it. You have to be modest, you have to be forbearing, you have to be deferential, you have to be understanding.
—Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
They own a modest home near the beach.
She enjoyed modest success with her singing career.
He earns a modest income.
We live on a modest budget.
New cars are now available at relatively modest prices.
He has only a modest amount of knowledge on the subject.
It is a book of only modest importance.
She's very modest about her achievements.
Don't be so modest. Your performance was wonderful!
“I'm not a hero. I was just doing my job,” he said in his characteristically modest way.
Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
As one sign of the modest pace of progress, just 2,021 permits to install new heating and cooling systems have been filed since 2017.
—Jonathan Bowles, New York Daily News, 9 May 2025
Stylish accents, like a braided upper with textured detailing, add a touch of femininity, while the modest 3-inch heel provides a little bit of height without straining your ankles.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 8 May 2025
Located in Oak Park, a quiet neighborhood in Chicago, the residence was originally quite modest with a primary bedroom, nursery, and work space.
—Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for modest
Cite this Entry
“Modest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/modest. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
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modest
adjective
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