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mod·es·ty
(mŏd′ĭ-stē)n.
1. The state or quality of being moderate in the estimation of one's own abilities, accomplishments, or value.
2. Reserve or propriety in speech, dress, or behavior: Modesty prevented her from wearing that dress.
3. The state of being unostentatious or moderate in size, quantity, or range: the modesty of the room's furnishings.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
modesty
(ˈmɒdɪstɪ)n, pl -ties
1. the quality or condition of being modest
2. (Clothing & Fashion) (modifier) designed to prevent inadvertent exposure of part of the body: a modesty flap.
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
mod•es•ty
(ˈmɒd ə sti)n.
1. regard for decency of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
2. lack of vanity.
[1525–35; < Latin modestia. See modest, -y3]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Modesty
See Also: MEEKNESS, PERSONAL TRAITS
- As humbly as a guest who knows himself too late —Hart Crane
- Humility is like underwear, essential but indecent if it shows —Helen Nielsen, Reader’s Digest, March, 1959
- If you really were a hero … you made it sound routine and unglamorous, like shrugging off a ninety-yard touchdown run as “Good luck and good blocking” —Dan Wakefield
- I looked as if I were trying to melt into the scenery and become invisible, like a giraffe standing motionless among sunlit leaves —Christopher Isherwood
- Modest as a flower —Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- Modest as justice —William Shakespeare
- Modesty is like virtue; suspected only when it is advertised —Douglas Malloch
- Modesty like a diver gathers pearls by keeping his head low —Punch
- Modesty’s at times its own reward, like virtue —Lord Byron
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
modesty
noun
1. reserve, decency, humility, shyness, propriety, reticence, timidity, diffidence, quietness, coyness, self-effacement, meekness, lack of pretension, bashfulness, humbleness, unpretentiousness, demureness, unobtrusiveness, discreetness His modesty does him credit.
reserve confidence, pride, assurance, vanity, arrogance, presumption, extravagance, conceit, indecency, boldness, egotism, ostentation, pretentiousness, immodesty, haughtiness, boastfulness, forwardness, showiness
3. decorum, virtue, decency, delicacy, propriety, sobriety, coyness, demureness, decorousness, seemliness, chasteness There were shrieks as the girls tried to protect their modesty.
Quotations
"Small is the worth"
"Of beauty from the light retir'd;"
"Bid her come forth,"
"Suffer herself to be desir'd,"
"And not blush so to be admir'd" [Edmund Waller Go Lovely Rose!]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
modesty
noun1. Lack of vanity or self-importance:
2. Reserve in speech, behavior, or dress:
3. The condition of being chaste:
4. Lack of ostentation or pretension:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
تَواضُع
skromnostmírnost
beskedenhed
häveliäisyyskainoussäädyllisyysvaatimattomuus
čednostskromnost
hæverska; lítillæti
skromnost
čednostskromnostскромностчедност
alçakgönüllülük
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
modesty
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
modest
(ˈmodist) adjective1. not having, or showing, too high an opinion of one's abilities etc. He's very modest about his success.
2. decent, or showing good taste; not shocking. modest clothing.
3. not very large; moderate. She's a person of modest ambitions.
ˈmodestly adverbˈmodesty nounKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.