modest

[ mod-ist ]

adjective

1. having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one's merits, importance, etc.; free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions.

   Synonyms: unobtrusive, unpretentious, unassuming, retiring

2. free from ostentation or showy extravagance:

   a modest house.

   Synonyms: unobtrusive, unpretentious

3. having or showing regard for the decencies of behavior, speech, dress, etc.; decent:

   a modest neckline on a dress.

   Synonyms: virtuous, pure

   Antonyms: coarse, bold

4. limited or moderate in amount, extent, etc.:

   a modest increase in salary.

modest

/ ˈmɒdɪst /

adjective

1. having or expressing a humble opinion of oneself or one's accomplishments or abilities
2. reserved or shy

   modest behaviour

3. not ostentatious or pretentious
4. not extreme or excessive; moderate
5. decorous or decent

Derived Forms

• ˈmodestly, adverb

Other Words From

• mod·est·ly adverb
• hy·per·mod·est adjective
• hy·per·mod·est·ness noun
• o·ver·mod·est adjective
• pseu·do·mod·est adjective
• qua·si-mod·est adjective
• su·per·mod·est adjective
• un·mod·est adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of modest¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin modestus “restrained, decorous,” equivalent to modes- (stem of unattested modus, an s- stem akin to modus “measured amount, limit, manner” ( mode ¹ ), perhaps from unattested medos, with the vowel of modus; compare moderārī “to moderate” ( moderate, from the same noun stem) + -tus adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of modest¹

C16: via Old French from Latin modestus moderate, from modus mode

Synonym Study

Modest, demure, prudish imply conformity to propriety and decorum, and a distaste for anything coarse or loud. Modest implies a becoming shyness, sobriety, and proper behavior: a modest, self-respecting person. Demure implies a bashful, quiet simplicity, staidness, and decorum; but can also indicate an assumed or affected modesty: a demure young chorus girl. Prudish suggests an exaggeratedly self-conscious modesty or propriety in behavior or conversation of one who wishes to be thought of as easily shocked and who often is intolerant: a prudish objection to a harmless remark.

Example Sentences

They say the need is by far the greatest among these modest-income families and the economic boost will be much larger if the money goes to lower-income families because they are likely to spend it right away.

From Washington Post

You would have made more money by using that money to buy a modest house, as the median American home has appreciated more than that over that timeframe.

From Fortune

Not for the first time, bold climate plans require modest financial risks.

From Popular-Science

Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona don’t seem inclined to support even modest filibuster reform, at least right now.

From FiveThirtyEight

On days when the surf is firing—or when I’m feeling more modest—it’s nice to have a reliable one-piece that I know will stay in place no matter how big the wave or wipeout.

From Outside Online

And there are other stories DuVernay could have told and still met her (relatively) modest budget of $20 million.

From The Daily Beast

How does it happen that citizens of modest means suffer as public sector unions gain?

From The Daily Beast

A modest crowd moved East on 110th Street in New York City on Sunday evening.

From The Daily Beast

It was sexy, silly, and—in those relatively modest times—sensational.

From The Daily Beast

I knew the Clintons had arrived at the White House with modest means.

From The Daily Beast

It was not an exalted niche to fill in life, but at least she had learned to fill it to perfection, and her ambitions were modest.

From Project Gutenberg

It would be a modest guess that Accadian culture implied a growth of at least ten thousand years.

From Project Gutenberg

Little Jack Charmington, her husband, had a snug four hundred a year of his own, which quite sufficed for his modest needs.

From Project Gutenberg

She seemed to imply that I was a modest soldier, and if there is a way to flatter a man it is to call him modest.

From Project Gutenberg

Thank you, Griff, Jess heard herself saying to the younger Vandergriff, as he packed her modest order in the basket.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• humble
• moderate
• prudent
• quiet
• simple
• unassuming