humble

1. adjective

1)

her bearing was humble

Syn:

meek, deferential, respectful, submissive, diffident, self-effacing, unassertive; unpresuming, modest, unassuming, self-deprecating; subdued, chastened

Ant:

proud, overbearing

2)

a humble background

Syn:

lowly, working-class, lower-class, poor, undistinguished, mean, modest, ignoble, low-born, plebeian, underprivileged; common, ordinary, simple, inferior, unremarkable, insignificant, inconsequential

Ant:

noble

3)

my humble abode

Syn:

modest, plain, simple, ordinary, unostentatious, unpretentious

Ant:

grand

2. verb

he had to humble himself to ask for my help

Syn:

humiliate, abase, demean, lower, degrade, debase; mortify, shame, abash; informal cut down to size, deflate, make eat humble pie, take down a peg or two, settle someone's hash, make eat crow

••

humble, abase, debase, degrade, demean, humiliate

While all of these verbs mean to lower in one's own estimation or in the eyes of others, there are subtle distinctions among them. Humble and humiliate sound similar, but humiliate emphasizes shame and the loss of self-respect and usually takes place in public (humiliated by her tearful outburst), while humble is a milder term implying a lowering of one's pride or rank (to humble the arrogant professor by pointing out his mistake). Abase suggests groveling or a sense of inferiority and is usually used reflexively (got down on his knees and abased himself before the king), while demean is more likely to imply a loss of dignity or social standing (refused to demean herself by marrying a common laborer). When used to describe things, debase means a deterioration in the quality or value of something (a currency debased by the country's political turmoil), but in reference to people it connotes a weakening of moral standards or character (debased himself by accepting bribes). Degrade is even stronger, suggesting the destruction of a person's character through degenerate or shameful behavior (degraded by long association with criminals).