humble
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humble¹
- /ˈhʌmbəl/ US, UK
- /ˈʌmbəl/ UK, Southern US, archaic
- /ˈhʊmbəl/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌmbəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English humble, from Old French humble, umble, humle, from Latin humilis (“low, slight, hence mean, humble”) (compare Greek χαμηλός (khamēlós, “on the ground, low, trifling”)), from humus (“the earth, ground”), humi (“on the ground”). See homage, and compare chameleon, humiliate. Displaced native Old English ēaþmōd.
adjective humbler · more humble · humblest · most humble
-
Not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming.
He lives in a humble one-bedroom cottage.
Similar: simple, modest, unpretentious
-
Having a low position or a low opinion of oneself; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest.
She ſhould be humble, who would pleaſe;
And ſhe muſt ſuffer, who can love.
Similar: demure, modest, unassuming
Similar: abased, demure, diffident, humble, humble-hearted, low, lowly, meek, mild, modest, poor, resigned, self-effacing, unpretentious, verecund · Opposite: arrogant, immodest
noun humbles
- People with a low position or a low opinion of themselves; those who are not proud, arrogant, or assuming. But he giueth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proude, but giueth grace vnto the humble.
- An arrest based on weak evidence intended to demean or punish the subject. You're on a corner in my district, it ain't gonna be about no humble, it ain't gonna be about no loitering charge, nothing like that. There gonna be some biblical shit happening to you on the way to that motherfucking jail wagon.
humble²
- /ˈhʌmbəl/ US, UK
- /ˈʌmbəl/ UK, Southern US, archaic
- /ˈhʊmbəl/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌmbəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English humblen (“to humble”), from the adjective above.
verb humbles · humbling · humbled
-
To defeat or reduce the power, independence, or pride of.
Here, take this purse, thou whom the heaven's plagues have humbled to all strokes.
Similar: abase, degrade, depress, disgrace, humiliate, lower, mortify, abash, bring low, confuse, confound, debase
-
To make humble or lowly; to make less proud or arrogant; to make meek and submissive.
And you say you've been humbled in love / Cut down in your love / Forced to kneel in the mud next to me
Similar: break, bring to heel, meeken, subdue, subjugate, suppress, tame
humble³
- /ˈhʌmbəl/ US, UK
- /ˈʌmbəl/ UK, Southern US, archaic
- /ˈhʊmbəl/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌmbəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English *humblen, *humbelen (suggested by humblynge (“a humming, a faint rumbling”)), frequentative of Middle English hummen (“to hum”), equivalent to hum + -le.
verb humbles · humbling · humbled
- To hum. humbling and bumbling
humble⁴
- /ˈhʌmbəl/ US, UK
- /ˈʌmbəl/ UK, Southern US, archaic
- /ˈhʊmbəl/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌmbəl
noun humbles
- Alternative form of hummel humble cattle
verb humbles · humbling · humbled
- Alternative form of hummel
Humble⁵
proper noun Humbles
- A surname.
- A small town in Langeland municipality, island of Langeland, southern Denmark.
- An unincorporated community in Russell County, Kentucky, United States.
- A city in Harris County, Texas, United States, the former home of Humble Oil.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: modest, unskilled, meek, mortify, inferior, lowly, humiliated, small, lowborn, baseborn, humiliate, mild, abase, chagrin, broken, crushed
Translations
Every language
adj thinking lowly of oneself
| Español | modesto, humilde, humildoso |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 겸손한 gyeomsonhan, 경멸한 gyeongmyeolhan |
| 日本語 | 謙虚な kenkyo na, 謙遜した kenson na, 卑屈な hikutsu na |
| 中文 | 謙卑 /谦卑 qiānbēi, 謙遜 /谦逊 qiānxùn, 謙虛 /谦虚 qiānxū |
| हिन्दी | विनीत vinīt, विनम्र vinamra |
| Português | humilde |
| Français | humble |
| Deutsch | demütig, bescheiden |
| Italiano | umile, modesto |
| Română | umil |
| Русский | скро́мный skrómnyj, смире́нный smirénnyj, ро́бкий róbkij, поко́рный pokórnyj, кро́ткий krótkij |
| Tiếng Việt | khiêm tốn, khúm núm |
| العربية | مُتَوَاضِع mutawāḍiʕ |
| עברית | צָנוּעַ tsanúa, עָנָיו anáv |
verb to bring low, etc.
| Español | humildear |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 低める hikumeru |
| Português | humilhar, diminuir |
| Deutsch | demütigen, erniedrigen |
| Italiano | sminuire |
| Română | umili |
verb to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.
| Español | humillar, humildear, dar una lección de humildad, aleccionar hasta la humildad, hacer humilde, humildizar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 遜る herikudaru |
| Deutsch | erniedrigen, demütig machen |
| Română | umili |
| Tiếng Việt | hạ thấp |
| العربية | وضع |
Talk about this word "humble." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/humble. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. humble. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/humble "humble." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/humble.Cite this
@misc{humble_2026,
title = {humble},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/humble},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
