— humbleness , n. — humbler , n. — humblingly , adv. — humbly , adv.
/hum"beuhl, um"-/ , adj., humbler, humblest , v. , humbled, humbling .
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.
6. to lower in condition, importance, or dignity; abase.
7. to destroy the independence, power, or will of.
8. to make meek: to humble one's heart.
[ 1200-50; ME ( h ) umble humilis lowly, insignificant, on the ground. See HUMUS, -ILE ]
Syn. 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.
Ant. 1, 2. proud. 3. noble, exalted. 4. rude, insolent. 6. elevate. 8. exalt.