Gentle describes the natural disposition; tame, that which is subdued by training; mild implies a temper which is, by nature, not easily provoked; meek, a spirit which has been schooled to mildness by discipline or suffering. The lamb is gentle; the domestic fowl is tame; John, the Apostle, was mild; Moses was meek.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Example sentences

humble However humble it is, there is no place like home.
mild Spring brings mild weather after the cold winter.
modest I have modest tastes. Wealth does not interest me.
lowly The affection of the lowly is like a wall of sand.
submissive Men are subconsciously attracted to submissive women.
docile That the sheep be docile is in the wolf's interest.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
meek		rising
humble		rising
mild		steady
modest		steady
lowly		rising
submissive		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: poor¹, soft¹, mild¹, tame¹
5 letters: quiet², lowly²
6 letters: gentle², humble², modest², abject², docile², demure², pliant², abased
7 letters: patient², pacific³, passive², subdued², servile², meekish
8 letters: resigned², retiring³, yielding², obedient⁴, amenable⁴, biddable³, verecund, lamblike
9 letters: compliant³, indulgent³, tractable³
10 letters: manageable⁴, submissive³, unassuming⁴, spiritless
11 letters: unobtrusive⁴
13 letters: unpretentious⁴, uncomplaining

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (quiet² = 2 syllables).