humble

B2 Topic:Describing People

US /ˈhʌmbəl/ UK /ˈhʌmbəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #4553

Meanings

1

adj
Not proud; not thinking that you are better or more important than others.

Despite his fame, he remained humble and friendly to everyone.
2

adj
Simple and plain; not large or impressive.

He lives in a humble one-bedroom cottage.
3

verb
To make someone feel less proud or important.

Losing to a much weaker team really humbled the champions.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not proud; not thinking... modest unassuming demure

2 adj · simple and plain; not large... modest simple unpretentious

3 verb · to make someone feel less... bring lowsubdue

More abaseddiffidenthumble-heartedlow lowly meek mild poor resigned self-effacing

Opposites

arrogant immodest

Word family

Forms humbledhumblerhumbleshumblesthumbling

Derived forms enhumblehumble-heartedhumble-heartednesshumblebraghumbleheadhumblehoodhumblenesshumblerhumblesomehumblessehumblifyhumblish

Related forms ashamed cautious dejected embarrassed humbleness humiliate humiliation humility moderate reserved servile shy

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

humble beginnings
A modest or difficult start in life, before later success

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Humble entered Middle English from French and ultimately derives from Latin humilis, “low,” “lowly,” or “base.” Humilis was formed from humus, “earth,” and is also the source of humility.

Etymology

From Middle English humble, from Old French humble, umble, humle, from Latin humilis (“low, slight, hence mean, humble”) (compare Greek χαμηλός (khamēlós, “on the ground, low, trifling”)), from humus (“the earth, ground”), humi (“on the ground”). See homage, and compare chameleon, humiliate. Displaced native Old English ēaþmōd.

humble Middle English humilis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People

External links

# humble

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈhʌmbəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈhʌmbəl/
**Frequency rank:** 4553

## Meanings
1. Not proud; not thinking that you are better or more important than others.
2. Simple and plain; not large or impressive.
3. To make someone feel less proud or important.

## Examples
- Despite his fame, he remained humble and friendly to everyone.
- He lives in a humble one-bedroom cottage.
- Losing to a much weaker team really humbled the champions.

## Synonyms
- abased
- demure
- diffident
- humble-hearted
- low
- lowly
- meek
- mild
- modest
- poor
- resigned
- self-effacing

## Antonyms
- arrogant
- immodest

## Derived Forms
- enhumble
- humble-hearted
- humble-heartedness
- humblebrag
- humblehead
- humblehood
- humbleness
- humbler
- humblesome
- humblesse
- humblify
- humblish

## Related Forms
- ashamed
- cautious
- dejected
- embarrassed
- humbleness
- humiliate
- humiliation
- humility
- moderate
- reserved
- servile
- shy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: humble
- Root: humilis

## Etymology
From Middle English humble, from Old French humble, umble, humle, from Latin humilis (“low, slight, hence mean, humble”) (compare Greek χαμηλός (khamēlós, “on the ground, low, trifling”)), from humus (“the earth, ground”), humi (“on the ground”). See homage, and compare chameleon, humiliate. Displaced native Old English ēaþmōd.

## AI Etymology
Humble comes from Middle English humble, from Old French humble, umble, humle, from Latin humilis (“low, slight, hence mean, humble”) (compare Greek χαμηλός (khamēlós, “on the ground, low, trifling”)), from humus (“the earth, ground”), humi (“on the ground”). See homage, and compare chameleon, humiliate. Displaced native Old English ēaþmōd. In current use, the main senses are “Not proud; not thinking that you are better or more important than others” and “Simple and plain; not large or impressive”.

## Topics
- Describing People

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