VOOZH about

URL: https://www.wordreference.com/definition/humble

⇱ humble - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

humble

Listen:
UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈhʌmbəl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈhʌmbəl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(hum′bəl, um′-)

Inflections of 'humble' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
humbles
v 3rd person singular
humbling
v pres p
humbled
v past
humbled
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
hum•ble /ˈhʌmbəl/USA pronunciation   adj., -bler, -blest, v., -bled, -bling. 
adj. 
  1. not proud or arrogant;
    modest.
  2. low in importance, status, or condition;
    lowly:began his career in a very humble position.

v. [~ + object]
  1. to lower in condition, importance, or dignity:The politician was humbled by defeat in the last election.
hum•ble•ness, n. [uncountable]
hum•bler, n. [countable]
hum•bly, adv. See -hum-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
hum•ble  (hum′bəl, um′-),USA pronunciation adj., -bler, -blest, v., -bled, -bling. 
adj. 
  1. not proud or arrogant;
    modest:to be humble although successful.
  2. having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.:In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble.
  3. low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.;
    lowly: of humble origin;
    a humble home.
  4. courteously respectful:In my humble opinion you are wrong.
  5. low in height, level, etc.;
    small in size:a humble member of the galaxy.

v.t. 
  1. to lower in condition, importance, or dignity;
    abase.
  2. to destroy the independence, power, or will of.
  3. to make meek:to humble one's heart.
  • Latin humilis lowly, insignificant, on the ground. See humus, -ile
  • Old French
  • Middle English (h)umble 1200–50
hum′ble•ness, n. 
hum′bler, n. 
hum′bling•ly, adv. 
hum′bly, adv. 
    1. unpretending, unpretentious. 2. submissive, meek. 3. unassuming, plain, common, poor. 4. polite. 6. mortify, shame, abash. 7. subdue, crush, break. Humble, degrade, humiliate suggest lowering or causing to seem lower. To humble is to bring down the pride of another or to reduce him or her to a state of abasement:to humble an arrogant enemy.To degrade is to demote in rank or standing, or to reduce to a low level in dignity:to degrade an officer; to degrade oneself by lying.To humiliate is to make others feel or appear inadequate or unworthy, esp. in some public setting:to humiliate a sensitive person.
    1. 2. proud. 3. noble, exalted. 4. rude, insolent. 6. elevate. 8. exalt.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
humble /ˈhʌmbəl/ adj
  1. conscious of one's failings
  2. unpretentious; lowly: a humble cottage, my humble opinion
  3. deferential or servile
 vb (transitive)
  1. to cause to become humble; humiliate
  2. to lower in status
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French, from Latin humilis low, from humus the groundˈhumbleness n ˈhumbly adv
'humble' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: is a humble [man, genius, author], always acts so humble, ever so humble about, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "humble" in the title:

a humble little scrabble down the area
a humble-noble man
a woman of humble origin/origins
arrogant vs. humble
Being humble and honest
Being humble <before> the divine
being humble with..
but at the same time a most humble request
Convey my humble greeting/greetings to all at home
Difference between humble and modest
Don't be shy/don't be humble
Eat humble pie
eat one's humble pie
from its humble origin to be the leading
from their/his humble beginnings
Has kept me humble
he deflects it in a humble way
her grandstanding concealed equally humble circumstances
His humble medium is on the side of truth
humble
Humble
Humble - [Unusual word?]
humble affair
humble and exalted
Humble and modest
Humble as he may seem,
Humble cookie?
Humble digs and Panty peeler
humble family farm
humble himself as a man
more...

Look up "humble" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "humble" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!
Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.
Firefox users: use search shortcuts for the fastest search of WordReference.
Copyright © 2026 WordReference.com
Please report any problems.