Synonyms for humble
- verb
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Humiliate — to defeat or reduce the power, independence, or pride of
humiliate, lower, shame, disgrace, put to shame, bring low, abase, bring down, demean, degrade, embarrass, reduce, dishonor US, dishonour UK, chasten, chagrin, abash, sink, relegate, depress, demote, downgrade, abate
2. Subdue — to make humble or lowly; to make less proud or arrogant; to make meek and submissive
break, subdue, tame, conquer, bring to heel, crush, subjugate, suppress, meeken
Other
Adjective
1. Modest — having a low position or a low opinion of oneself; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest
modest, meek, unassuming, poor, self-effacing, mild, demure, unobtrusive, unpretending
4. Unpretentious — not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming
Definitions
- v. 1
To defeat or reduce the power, independence, or pride of.
- v. 2
To make humble or lowly; to make less proud or arrogant; to make meek and submissive.
- adj. 1
Not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming.
He lives in a humble one-bedroom cottage.
- adj. 2
Having a low position or a low opinion of oneself; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest.
Related words
- Word family
- humbleness humiliate humiliation humility humblehood humbly
- Phrases
- humble plant
- Other spellings
- hummel hummle
Forms
- Past participle
- humbled
e.g. humbled → humiliated, lowered, shamed, disgraced…
Choose the right word
Humble in present use refers chiefly to feeling of heart; humiliate to outward conditions; even when one is said to humble himself, he either has or affects to have humility of heart.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- abate The storm didn't abate for several hours.
- relegate Don't relegate me to the back office. I want to talk to the customers.
- abase He began to abase the man behind his back.
- abash The titter that rippled around the room appeared to abash the boy.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| humble | rising | |
| abate | falling | |
| relegate | steady | |
| abase | rising | |
| abash | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- low1
- 4 letters
- poor1, base1, poll1, sink1, mild1, tame1, meek1
- 5 letters
- small1, break1, lower2, shame1, crush1, lowly2, abate2, abase, abash2
- 6 letters
- simple2, broken2, reduce2, modest2, subdue2, menial3, demean2, demure2, demote2, meeken
- 7 letters
- obscure2, conquer2, degrade2, chagrin2, depress2, ignoble3, chasten2
- 8 letters
- resigned2, inferior4, disgrace2, suppress2, obedient4, dishonor3, relegate3, reverent3, contrite2
- 9 letters
- embarrass3, downgrade2, humiliate4, dishonour, subjugate3
- 10 letters
- submissive3, unassuming4
- 11 letters
- unobtrusive4, unpresuming
- 12 letters
- unpretending
- 13 letters
- unpretentious4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (lower2 = 2 syllables).