I. adjective
1.
lacking all signs of pride, aggressiveness, or self-assertiveness
accepted her success with humble appreciation
Synonyms: lowly, meek, modest, unassuming
Related Word: simple, unobtrusive, unostentatious, unpretentious; acquiescent, compliant, resigned; quiet, subdued, submissive
Contrasted words: ostentatious, pretentious, showy; vain, vainglorious; arrogant, disdainful, haughty, lordly, overbearing, proud, toplofty
Antonyms: conceited
2.
Synonyms: ignoble 1, base, baseborn, low, lowborn, lowly, mean, plebeian, unennobled, unwashed
II. verb
to make lower in status, prestige, or esteem
his devotion to duty humbled his critics
Synonyms: abase, bemean, cast down, debase, degrade, demean, humiliate, lower, sink
Related Word: chagrin, mortify; abash, discomfit, embarrass
Idioms: bring low, take down a peg or two
Contrasted words: aggrandize, exalt, magnify