Definition

1. Noun:
   • The quality or state of being humble; modesty: A disposition characterized by a lack of arrogance or excessive pride.
   • A feeling of being humble or insignificant: A personal sentiment of modesty or lowliness in relation to others or to a situation.
   • The condition of being low in rank, status, or importance: The state of having a modest, unpretentious, or lowly position.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • Her genuine humbleness made her a respected leader. (Her authentic lack of pride made her a respected leader.)
  • He accepted the award with quiet humbleness. (He accepted the award with quiet modesty.)
  • The humbleness of their home was touching. (The unpretentious nature of their home was touching.)

Advanced Usage

• "In all humbleness": Used to preface a statement to emphasize the speaker's modesty or lack of presumption.
  • In all humbleness, I must disagree with your assessment. (Stating this with complete modesty, I must disagree.)

Variants and Related Words

• Humble (adj.): Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.
  • He is a very humble man despite his success.
• Humbly (adv.): In a humble manner.
  • She humbly accepted the criticism.

Synonyms

• Modesty: The quality of being modest; freedom from vanity or conceit.
• Meekness: The quality of being submissive or overly compliant, often with a connotation of patience.
• Unpretentiousness: The quality of not attempting to impress others with an appearance of greater importance or merit than is actually possessed.

Antonyms

• Arrogance: An attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner.
• Pride: A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, or an excessively high opinion of oneself.
• Haughtiness: The appearance or quality of being arrogantly superior and disdainful.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To eat humble pie: To make a humble apology and accept humiliation.
  • After his mistake was exposed, he had to eat humble pie.
• Humble beginnings: A simple, modest, or lowly origin.
  • The billionaire never forgot his humble beginnings.

Noun

1. a disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride
   • not everyone regards humility as a virtue
2. a humble feeling
   • he was filled with humility at the sight of the Pope
3. the state of being humble and unimportant