modest
adjective
Simple meaning
Not bragging or boasting about oneself or one's achievements.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mahduhstSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɑdəst
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Not bragging or boasting about oneself or one's achievements; unpretentious, humble.
especially of behavior or clothing
Intending to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others.
Pure and delicate from a sense of propriety.
Small, moderate in size.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not bragging or boasting about oneself or one's achievements; unpretentious, humble.
Used this way, modest is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Successful and accomplished
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use modest
- “A modest neckline in her dress covered her up to her collarbone.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.