adjective
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patient, long-suffering, or submissive in disposition or nature; humble
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spineless or spiritless; compliant
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an obsolete word for gentle
Usage
What does meek mean? When used in a positive way, meek describes someone who shows patient restraint. When used negatively, it means overly submissive. The positive sense of meek implies that someone is able to remain calm and subdued even when being provoked. Its negative use is perhaps more common, and is intended to indicate that someone is being too passive. The word meek is often associated with Christian virtues due to its use in a well-known Bible passage. Example: I know you’re naturally reserved, but you can’t be so meek during job interviews.
Synonym Usage
See gentle.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of meek
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English meke, meoc, from Old Norse mjūkr “soft, mild, meek”
Explanation
The adjective meek describes a person who is willing to go along with whatever other people want to do, like a meek classmate who won't speak up, even when he or she is treated unfairly. A meek person can also be humble, but these words aren't quite synonyms. If you are humble, you don't want a lot of attention, like the humble athlete who has a truly excellent performance yet after the game, tells reporters that it was group effort by the whole team. A meek person, on the other hand, would never think a reporter would ever want to talk to him or her, and if asked, would probably try to get someone else, someone more "worthy," to do it.
Vocabulary lists containing meek
Touching Spirit Bear
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The Cay
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
By transforming Parks into a meek, accidental activist whose only deficit was physical fatigue, the dominant cultural narrative effectively stripped her of her radicalism.
From Salon ● May 20, 2026
There’s a single-panel comic by the artist Paul Noth that pokes fun at researchers’ meek attempts.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026
The meek Eagles sputtered and stalled, brainlessly frittering a time out that might have extended the game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026
Initially seen as meek and even-tempered, the layers have been pulled back to show something different.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2025
“Yes, septa,” she said in a meek voice, though she was angry enough to spit.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
First, riverbank lupine snuck into the garden on a mislabeled seed package, swamping meeker plants.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2023
But the evening quickly becomes awkward, as the incorrigible alpha male Lucas teases and pokes at the meeker Adam, making unreasonable demands on him and Eva until Adam finally breaks and spills some embarrassing secrets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2022
The tracks belonged to a smaller, meeker herbivore no taller than a person, not a ferocious giant carnivore, scientists said in a paper published Thursday in the journal Historical Biology.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2021
Ron is a gigantic goof who either doesn't read body language well or ignores it entirely, overpowering the smaller, meeker Marcus with his gigantic personality and boundless acts of kindness.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2021
Certes it is a noble sport And men have quitted selle and swum for't, But I am of a meeker sort And I prefer Surtees in comfort.
From An Almanac of Twelve Sports by Kipling, Rudyard
“In his interactions with the loftiest of public officials or the meekest of private figures, he hoped and sought to get at the truth,” Chris Haley said.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2021
The 2020 high school football season has ended in West Virginia with the meekest of whimpers.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 2, 2020
I witnessed her open her eyes and says in the meekest whisper of a voice: “I want to get off this merry-go-round. I want to go home.”
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2020
The lead Heather is fat-positive, the henchman is genderqueer, and the meekest member is a black lesbian.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2019
And signed: ‘Thy everloving father, in this world and the next, author of thy being and guardian of thy virtue; in meekest love, Hugh Crain.’
From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
