Synonyms for modesty
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Humility
humility, decency, humbleness, diffidence, shyness, meekness, shame, lowliness, delicacy, bashfulness
2. Chastity
Other
reserve, coldness, backwardness, constraint, editorial we, modestness, pudicity
Definitions
- n. 1
The quality of being modest; having a limited and not overly high opinion of oneself and one's abilities.
- n. 2
Moderate behaviour; reserve.
Related words
Forms
- Plural
- modesties → humilities, decencies, humblenesses, diffidences…
Choose the right word
Diffidence is self-distrust; modesty, a humble estimate of oneself in comparison with others, or with the demands of some undertaking. Modesty has also the specific meaning of a sensitive shrinking from anything indelicate.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- humility You would be a better person if you learnt humility.
- decency Tom didn't have the decency to admit he was wrong.
- coldness I felt coldness even though I was sitting in the sun.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| modesty | rising | |
| humility | rising | |
| decency | steady | |
| humbleness | rising | |
| diffidence | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- shame1
- 6 letters
- purity3
- 7 letters
- reserve2, decency3, shyness2
- 8 letters
- humility4, delicacy4, chastity3, coldness2, meekness, pudicity
- 9 letters
- lowliness
- 10 letters
- simplicity4, constraint2, humbleness, diffidence, modestness
- 11 letters
- bashfulness3
- 12 letters
- backwardness3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (purity3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- modestie
- Italiano
- modestia
- Español
- modestia
- Deutsch
- Bescheidenheit