I. hum ‧ ble 1 /ˈhʌmb ə l/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin humilis 'low, humble' , from humus 'earth' ]
1 . not considering yourself or your ideas to be as important as other people’s OPP proud ⇨ humility :
a modest and humble man
2 . having a low social class or position:
He started his career as a humble peanut farmer.
humble background/origins etc
Iacocca rose from humble beginnings to become boss of Ford.
3 . in my humble opinion spoken used humorously to give your opinion about something
4 . my humble apologies British English spoken used humorously to say you are sorry
5 . [only before noun] simple and ordinary, but useful or effective:
The humble potato may be the key to feeding the world’s population.
6 . eat humble pie to admit that you were wrong about something
7 . your humble servant British English old use a formal way of ending a letter
8 . sb’s humble abode someone’s house or apartment – used humorously:
Welcome to our humble abode.
—humbly adverb
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ modest not wanting to talk about your abilities or achievements and to say that you are good at something, even when you are – used to show approval:
Miller, a quiet, modest man, gave credit to Asher for the initial discovery.
|
She was surprisingly modest about her own achievements as a player.
▪ self-effacing written not wanting to talk about yourself or to attract attention:
Her husband was a quiet, self-effacing man who spent much of his time in his study.
▪ unassuming not wanting to be noticed and not expecting to be treated in a special way:
By now Chapman was famous, but he remained as unassuming as ever.
|
He then began, in typically unassuming fashion, to establish the first modern dance company.
▪ humble believing that you are not more important, better, or cleverer than other people, and therefore not expecting to be treated in a special way:
A good leader is humble enough to get advice from experts.
▪ unpretentious not trying to seem better than other people, even if you are rich, famous, clever etc:
President Eisenhower was a friendly and unpretentious man who seemed to embody American virtues.
|
It's his unpretentious boyish charm that ensures Jackie Chan's position as one of the giants of international cinema.
▪ self-deprecating written behaving or talking about your own abilities or achievements in a way that makes them seem unimportant:
Despite his intellect, he had an appealing self-deprecating humour.
|
The nice thing about him is his self-deprecating manner. His intellectual ability was never pushed at you, yet he obviously had great potential.
|
a self-deprecating smile
II. humble 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . be humbled if you are humbled, you realize that you are not as important, good, kind etc as you thought you were:
You can’t help but be humbled when you enter this cathedral.
2 . [transitive] to easily defeat someone who is much stronger than you are:
The mighty U.S. army was humbled by a small Southeast Asian country.
3 . humble yourself to show that you are not too proud to ask for something, admit you are wrong etc:
I knew he had humbled himself to ask for my help.
—humbling adjective :
a humbling experience