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
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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
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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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of humble
Mackenzie Schmidt, People.com, 10 Mar. 2025
Peterson, who founded her dance company more than 35 years ago, reminisces on its humble beginnings.
—Carolina Del Busto, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
Maya Eaglin, NBC News, 23 Feb. 2025
Meanwhile, Trump humbled a huge field of rivals on the Republican side that year, winning primaries and caucuses largely by energizing those who had not voted in recent election cycles.
—Ron Elving, NPR, 1 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humble
Adjective
My advice for this is to be humble without losing confidence, and self-assured without crossing into overconfidence.
—Mackenzie Schmidt, People.com, 10 Mar. 2025
Peterson, who founded her dance company more than 35 years ago, reminisces on its humble beginnings.
—Carolina Del Busto, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
Verb
As residents hope to return to a sense of normalcy, Duarte Matarese said she’s humbled by the response from both the community and officials.
—Maya Eaglin, NBC News, 23 Feb. 2025
Meanwhile, Trump humbled a huge field of rivals on the Republican side that year, winning primaries and caucuses largely by energizing those who had not voted in recent election cycles.
—Ron Elving, NPR, 1 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humble
Adjective
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The character, who started as a seemingly meek Secret Service agent of questionable talent, turned out to be a highly skilled assassin of questionable sanity.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
6 Mar. 2025
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Less impressive was the following game, a meek 0-1 loss to West Ham United, which ended the quest for a Premier League title and renewed the striker debate like never before.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Despite multiple promising routines in the practice sessions, Lee’s low score of 11.800 was not enough to send the Olympic Champion to Azerbaijan.—
Caroline Price,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
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But after spending most of the day under low stratus clouds, patchy fog and coastal drizzle caused by onshore flow, New Yorkers will likely need an umbrella for the evening hours, as a cold front coming from the west is expected to dump up to three-quarters of an inch of rain.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Trump’s servile devotion to Putin becomes the new norm overnight as Republicans cower in support of Trump’s new Putin policy.—
Bob Kustra,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
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His co-stars, like Will Ferrell’s savage Mugatu, Owen Wilson’s stoner hottie Hansel, and Nathan Lee Graham’s servile Todd — all so precise and well-defined in the original’s ravelike milieu — are doomed to retrace their old steps here.—
Sean Malin,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2024
Verb
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Remember, Trump kicked off his political career by claiming Obama wasn't born here, and reportedly decided to run for president only after Obama humiliated him to his face at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2011.—
Hannah Parry,
Newsweek,
19 Mar. 2025
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In addition to the City of Hartford and Hartford School Board, the complaint named Tilda Santiago, a special education case manager who allegedly repeatedly bullied and harassed Ortiz by yelling and humiliating the teen in front of other students and teachers.—
David Chiu,
People.com,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Gloria, her shy and soft-spoken best friend, lives with her Ghanaian father in a modest apartment, rarely speaking to a mother who moved to Germany years ago.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2025
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The decline was sharper than predicted by a Reuters poll of analysts, reversing January’s modest 0.5% increase and marking the first contraction since January 2024.—
John Liu,
CNN,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Seton Hall, on the other hand, returned to its lowly form and comes into Gampel Pavilion having lost five in a row.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2025
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Ah, the dunk, impressive only to the lowly serfs of basketball’s airspace.—
Fred Katz,
The Athletic,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Our generosity as a nation extended to those who suffered in other parts of the world, even as millions of people were lifted from abject poverty.—
Linda Chapin,
Orlando Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2025
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Your inability to establish a rational, functional and legal system of immigration is an abject failure on your part.—
Peter Cunningham,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
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President Trump on Tuesday escalated his campaign to discredit judges who get in his way, calling on Congress to impeach the judge at the center of a legal fight over the deportation of hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador.—
Brian Bennett,
TIME,
18 Mar. 2025
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More often than not these spins have one end goal: to dismiss or discredit someone or something.—
Lucy Dolan-Zalaznick,
Vogue,
12 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Humble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humble. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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