1
as in meek
not having or showing any feelings of superiority, self-assertiveness, or showiness
a medical scientist who remained remarkably humble even after winning the Nobel Prize even though she'd been proven wrong, her attitude was still far from humble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a humble peasant girl who claimed she was chosen by God to restore the French king to his throne
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in servile
showing, expressing, or offered in a spirit of humility or unseemly submissiveness
please accept my humble thanks for this unexpected favor
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
Philip was utterly humbled by a crushing defeat in the first round of the state chess tournament
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of humble
Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 23 Apr. 2026
Sure, jeans and suit pants dressed up or down are timeless and great paired with a blazer or oversized shirt, but what about the humble cargo pants?
—Alexandra Pereira, Travel + Leisure, 23 Apr. 2026
Jamie Carter, Space.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Biolos said he’s honored and humbled to be recognized by SIMA and share the night with the other honorees.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humble
Adjective
Takes care of his stuff, super humble, asks a lot of questions.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 23 Apr. 2026
Sure, jeans and suit pants dressed up or down are timeless and great paired with a blazer or oversized shirt, but what about the humble cargo pants?
—Alexandra Pereira, Travel + Leisure, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
An asteroid this big, getting this close to Earth, happens only once every few thousand years, making it truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a celestial encounter both dramatic and deeply humbling.
—Jamie Carter, Space.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Biolos said he’s honored and humbled to be recognized by SIMA and share the night with the other honorees.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humble
Adjective
-
That included a meek loss in Toronto, with Murray not participating on the second night of a back-to-back following a blowout loss at Detroit.—
Law Murray,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The other, meek and mild-mannered.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The group, originally signed to RCA Records, released two albums of bustling synth pop and opened for Harry Styles in the late twenty-tens but was cast off in the early days of the pandemic owing to low sales.—
Dan Stahl,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
-
Senators Chris Murphy and Ruben Gallego have spoken publicly about wanting to pursue this, and Bedoya notes that there’s precedent for this action, citing Democrats’ recent introduction of a bill to break up the meatpacking industry to create lower prices for consumers.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That this man’s-man tough guy becomes utterly servile in the presence of a bunch of slack-casual bazillionaires is the cherry on top of the fascist sundae.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Julia was the first weekly TV series that starred a Black woman in a role that wasn't servile.—
Starr Rocque,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
One such accusation resulted in a federal lawsuit filed in September in which the former head of the Colorado Division for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind alleged DHS management humiliated and discriminated against him before forcing him out of his job.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
-
According to the suit, she was humiliated by fellow staff members and belittled due to her race, country of origin, religion and immigration status.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Stargazers in the southern hemisphere could see up to 50 shooting stars crisscrossing the night sky while those in the northern hemisphere will be treated to a more modest showing of between 10-30 meteors per hour, according to the American Meteor Society.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
2 May 2026
-
Surely a country that can spend a billion dollars a day on a war of choice can afford a modest commitment for a safety net to protect workers whose jobs are lost as a result of AI.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
Getting to face the lowly Orlando Magic, who themselves are in the middle of their own stretch of subpar play since Dwight Howard left the building more than a decade earlier.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
-
After being swept by the lowly Colorado Rockies and being losers in 15 of the team’s previous 17 games on the heels of Cora’s firing, some expected Mendoza to be relieved of Mets duties on Monday.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The current head coach has earned credit with some fans for at least making Wolves competitive from a position of abject misery.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
And to the abject awfulness of such robber barons as Misters Carnegie, Gould, and Frick.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Robert Brulle, a visiting professor at Brown University who studies fossil fuel lobbying, said ExxonMobil led efforts to discredit climate science that successfully impeded government intervention.—
Alex Kuffner,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
-
New science and forensics have since discredited the expert’s conclusion, prompting Gurley to throw out the convictions and order a new trial.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humble. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
