humble Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb cause to be unpretentious
    • This experience will humble him
  2. verb cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
    abase; chagrin; mortify; humiliate.
    • He humiliated his colleague by criticising him in front of the boss
  3. adjective satellite low or inferior in station or quality
    small; modest; low; lowly.
    • a humble cottage
    • a lowly parish priest
    • a modest man of the people
    • small beginnings
  4. adjective marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful
    • a humble apology
    • essentially humble...and self-effacing, he achieved the highest formal honors and distinctions"- B.K.Malinowski
  5. adjective satellite used of unskilled work (especially domestic work)
    menial; lowly.
  6. adjective satellite of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense)
    baseborn; base; lowly.
    • baseborn wretches with dirty faces
    • of humble (or lowly) birth

WordNet

Hum"ble adjective
Etymology
F., fr. L. humilis on the ground, low, fr. humus the earth, ground. See Homage, and cf. Chameleon, Humiliate.
Wordforms
comparative Humbler ; superlative Humblest
Definitions
  1. Near the ground; not high or lofty; not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming; as, a humble cottage.
    THy humble nest built on the ground. Cowley.
  2. Thinking lowly of one's self; claiming little for one's self; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; thinking one's self ill-deserving or unworthy, when judged by the demands of God; lowly; waek; modest.
    God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Jas. iv. 6.
    She should be humble who would please. Prior.
    Without a humble imitation of the divine Author of our . . . religion we can never hope to be a happy nation. Washington.
Hum"ble adjective
Definitions
  1. Hornless. See Hummel. Scot.
Hum"ble transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Humbled ; present participle & verbal noun Humbling
Definitions
  1. To bring low; to reduce the power, independence, or exaltation of; to lower; to abase; to humilate.
    Here, take this purse, thou whom the heaven's plagues Have humbled to all strokes. Shak.
    The genius which humbled six marshals of France. Macaulay.
  2. To make humble or lowly in mind; to abase the pride or arrogance of; to reduce the self-sufficiently of; to make meek and submissive; -- often used rexlexively.
    Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you. 1 Pet. v. 6.
    Syn. -- To abase; lower; depress; humiliate; mortify; disgrace; degrade.

Webster 1913