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单词 humble
释义 hum·ble
I. \ˈhəmbəl also ˈəm-\ adjective
(-er/-est)
Etymology: Middle English umble, humble, from Old French, from Latin humilis low, slight, humble, from humus earth, ground + -ilis -ile; akin to Greek chthōn earth, chamai on the ground, Sanskrit kṣam earth, ground
1.
 a. : having a low opinion of one's own importance or merits : modest or meek in spirit, manner, or appearance : not proud or haughty
  < essentially humble … and self-effacing, he achieved the highest formal honors and distinctions — B.K.Malinowski >
  < to them even the president was humble — Sinclair Lewis >
  < a spot where a man feels his own insignificance and may well learn to be humble — Samuel Butler †1902 >
 b. : reflecting, expressing, or offered in a humble spirit
  < my humblest apologies for the long wait — T.B.Costain >
  < beg to submit my humble notion — Vicki Baum >
  < hear my humble cry — Fanny J. Crosby >
  < loathed his cringing look and humble smile >
2.
 a. : ranking low in the social or political scale
  < a man of humble origin >
  < all civil servants, no matter how humble, should be disenfranchised — J.H.Plumb >
  < a humble fisherman >
 b. : ranking low in some hierarchy or scale : insignificant
  < in the study of the life of animals, however humble, we are studying … our own complex human life — W.E.Swinton >
  < the humble weeds of the field >
  < the giant stellar family of which our sun is a humble member — George Gamow >
 c. : of inferior value or worth : not costly or luxurious : mean, base, unpretentious
  < chief clerks have mahogany desks; to the others is relegated the humbler walnut — H.J.Laski >
  < artisans … who work by hand with gold, silver, and the humbler metals — New Yorker >
  < the humble fare of any Mexican peon — Green Peyton >
  : of modest dimensions or proportions
  < freighters using the same slips as the humble powerboats of small fishermen — American Guide Series: Massachusetts >
  < equally humble were the beginnings of … the important State Department of Agriculture — American Guide Series: New York >
Synonyms:
 meek, modest, lowly: humble suggests absence of vanity and pride, feeling of weakness or lack of worth, self-depreciation, or an abject attitude and demeanor
  < love hath made her humble, and her race doth she forget, and her noble and mighty heart — William Morris >
  < she prays there as the light goes out, prays with an humble heart, and walks home shrinking and silent — W.M.Thackeray >
  < the cook drew himself up in a smugly humble fashion, a deprecating smirk on his face — Jack London >
  meek may suggest patient subdued retiring mildness and gentleness, sometimes even a spiritless, cowed submissiveness
  < the most modest, silent, sheep-faced and meek of little men — W.M.Thackeray >
  < her father, of course, was the lion of the party, but seeing that we were all meek and quite willing to be eaten, he roared to us rather than at us — Samuel Butler †1902 >
  modest may contrast with brash or self-assertive; without any implication of abjectness or submissiveness, it may imply unobtrusive lack of boastfulness or conceited or jealous demand for recognition
  < a simple, modest, retiring man — F.D.Roosevelt >
  < the anthropologist is entirely proper and modest in refusing as an anthropologist to make judgments on other cultural beliefs with respect to their epistemological truth — Weston La Barre >
  lowly, close to humble, may stress complete lack of worldly pretentiousness
  < a monk of Lindisfarne, so simple and lowly in temper that he traveled on foot — J.R.Green >
  < you hold aloof from me because you are rich and lofty — and I poor and lowly — W.S.Gilbert >
II. transitive verb
(humbled ; humbled ; humbling \-b(ə)liŋ\ ; humbles)
Etymology: Middle English humblen, from humble, adjective
1. : to make humble in spirit or manner : bring down the pride or arrogance of
 < having humbled your heart … you may find him — Francis Yeats-Brown >
 < humbled himself before the rich and great >
2. : to destroy the power, independence, or prestige of : defeat decisively : degrade, abase
 < the great marshal humbled his enemies in a swift, brilliantly conducted campaign >
 < it was now the turn of the Church to be humbled >
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更新时间:2024/11/11 18:16:01