Modest — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself

not large but sufficient in size or amount

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/mˈɑːdɪst/

🇬🇧British English

/mˈɒdɪst/

🇮🇳Indian English

/mˈɒdɪst/

2 syllables Say it as /mˈɑːdɪst/.

Examples

a modest apartment
too modest to wear his medals
a modest salary

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

meek humble mild pocket-sized lowly minor small-scale low small pocket-size

Antonyms

immodest

Parts of Speech

adjective	marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself “a modest apartment”
adjective	not large but sufficient in size or amount “a modest salary”
adjective	free from pomp or affectation “comfortable but modest cottages”
adjective	not offensive to sexual mores in conduct or appearance
adjective	low or inferior in station or quality “a humble cottage”
adjective	humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness “meek and self-effacing”
adjective	limited in size or scope “a small business”

Word Forms

modestness	noun	freedom from vanity or conceit
smallness	noun	the property of being a relatively small amount
humbleness	noun	the state of being humble and unimportant
lowness	noun	a position of inferior status; low in station or rank or fortune or estimation
meekness	noun	the feeling of patient, submissive humbleness

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

bescheiden

geprägt von Einfachheit; eine bescheidene Meinung über sich selbst haben

🇫🇷French

modeste

marqué par la simplicité; avoir une humble opinion de soi

🇪🇸Spanish

modesto

marcado por la sencillez; tener una humilde opinión de ti mismo

🇮🇹Italian

modesto

segnato dalla semplicità; avere un'umile opinione di te stesso

🇳🇱Dutch

bescheiden

gekenmerkt door eenvoud; een bescheiden mening over jezelf hebben

🇵🇹Portuguese

modesto

marcado pela simplicidade; ter uma opinião humilde sobre si mesmo

🇷🇺Russian

скромный

отмечен простотой; иметь скромное мнение о себе

India

🇮🇳Hindi

मामूली

सादगी से चिह्नित; अपने बारे में विनम्र राय रखना

🇧🇩Bengali

বিনয়ী

সরলতা দ্বারা চিহ্নিত; নিজের সম্পর্কে একটি নম্র মতামত থাকা

🇮🇳Tamil

அடக்கமான

எளிமையால் குறிக்கப்பட்டது; உங்களைப் பற்றி ஒரு தாழ்மையான கருத்து

🇮🇳Telugu

నిరాడంబరమైన

సరళతతో గుర్తించబడింది; మీ గురించి వినయపూర్వకమైన అభిప్రాయాన్ని కలిగి ఉండటం

🇮🇳Marathi

विनम्र

साधेपणा द्वारे चिन्हांकित; स्वतःबद्दल नम्र मत असणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

વિનમ્ર

સરળતા દ્વારા ચિહ્નિત; તમારા વિશે નમ્ર અભિપ્રાય રાખો

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸಾಧಾರಣ

ಸರಳತೆಯಿಂದ ಗುರುತಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ; ನಿಮ್ಮ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿನಮ್ರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

എളിമയുള്ള

ലാളിത്യത്താൽ അടയാളപ്പെടുത്തി; നിങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ച് ഒരു എളിയ അഭിപ്രായം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਮਾਮੂਲੀ

ਸਾਦਗੀ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਚਿੰਨ੍ਹਿਤ; ਆਪਣੇ ਬਾਰੇ ਇੱਕ ਨਿਮਰ ਵਿਚਾਰ ਰੱਖਣਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

معمولی

سادگی سے نشان زد؛ اپنے بارے میں عاجزانہ رائے رکھنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

谦虚的

以简单为特征；对自己有一个谦虚的看法

🇯🇵Japanese

控えめ

シンプルさが特徴。自分自身について謙虚な意見を持つ

🇰🇷Korean

보통의

단순함으로 표시됩니다. 자신에 대해 겸손한 의견을 갖는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

khiêm tốn

được đánh dấu bằng sự đơn giản; có quan điểm khiêm tốn về bản thân

🇹🇭Thai

เจียมเนื้อเจียมตัว

ทำเครื่องหมายด้วยความเรียบง่าย มีความเห็นต่ำต้อยเกี่ยวกับตัวเอง

🇮🇩Indonesian

sederhana

ditandai dengan kesederhanaan; memiliki pendapat yang rendah hati tentang diri Anda sendiri

🇵🇭Filipino

mahinhin

minarkahan ng pagiging simple; pagkakaroon ng mababang opinyon sa iyong sarili

🇲🇾Malay

sederhana

ditandai dengan kesederhanaan; mempunyai pendapat yang rendah diri tentang diri sendiri

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

محتشم

تتميز بالبساطة. لديك رأي متواضع عن نفسك

🇮🇷Persian

متواضع

با سادگی مشخص شده است. داشتن یک نظر متواضعانه نسبت به خود

🇹🇷Turkish

mütevazı

sadelikle işaretlenmiş; kendiniz hakkında alçakgönüllü bir görüşe sahip olmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

צָנוּעַ

מסומן בפשטות; בעל דעה צנועה על עצמך

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'modest'?

The primary meaning of 'modest' is 'marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'modest' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'modest' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'modest' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'modest' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'modest' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'modest' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'modest' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'modest' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'modest' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'modest' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted