Adjacent Words

Modest definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MOD'EST, a. [L. modestus, from modus, a limit.]
1. Properly, restrained by a sense of propriety; hence, not forward or bold; not presumptuous or arrogant; not boastful; as a modest youth; a modest man.
2. Not bold or forward; as a modest maid. The word may be thus used without reference to chastity.
The blushing beauties of a modest maid.
3. Not loose; not lewd.
Mrs. Ford, the honest woman, the modest wife.
4. Moderate; not excessive or extreme; not extravagant; as a modest request; modest joy; a modest computation.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself; "a modest apartment"; "too modest to wear his medals" [ant: immodest]
2: not large but sufficient in size or amount; "a modest salary"; "modest inflation"; "helped in my own small way" [syn: modest, small]
3: free from pomp or affectation; "comfortable but modest cottages"; "a simple rectangular brick building"; "a simple man with simple tastes"
4: not offensive to sexual mores in conduct or appearance [ant: immodest]
5: low or inferior in station or quality; "a humble cottage"; "a lowly parish priest"; "a modest man of the people"; "small beginnings" [syn: humble, low, lowly, modest, small]
6: humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness; "meek and self-effacing" [syn: meek, mild, modest]
7: limited in size or scope; "a small business"; "a newspaper with a modest circulation"; "small-scale plans"; "a pocket- size country" [syn: minor, modest, small, small- scale, pocket-size, pocket-sized]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Latin modestus moderate; akin to Latin modus measure Date: 1565 1. a. placing a moderate estimate on one's abilities or worth b. neither bold nor self-assertive ; tending toward diffidence 2. arising from or characteristic of a modest nature 3. observing the proprieties of dress and behavior ; decent 4. a. limited in size, amount, or scope <a family of modest means> b. unpretentious <a modest home> Synonyms: see shy, chaste • modestly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 having or expressing a humble or moderate estimate of one's own merits or achievements. 2 diffident, bashful, retiring. 3 decorous in manner and conduct. 4 moderate or restrained in amount, extent, severity, etc.; not excessive or exaggerated (a modest sum). 5 (of a thing) unpretentious in appearance etc. Derivatives: modestly adv. Etymology: F modeste f. L modestus keeping due measure

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Modest Mod"est, a. [F. modeste, L. modestus, fr. modus measure. See Mode.] 1. Restraining within due limits of propriety; not forward, bold, boastful, or presumptious; rather retiring than pushing one's self forward; not obstructive; as, a modest youth; a modest man. 2. Observing the proprieties of the sex; not unwomanly in act or bearing; free from undue familiarity, indecency, or lewdness; decent in speech and demeanor; -- said of a woman. Mrs. Ford, the honest woman, the modest wife. --Shak. The blushing beauties of a modest maid. --Dryden. 3. Evincing modestly in the actor, author, or speaker; not showing presumption; not excessive or extreme; moderate; as, a modest request; modest joy. Syn: Reserved; unobtrusive; diffident; bashful; coy; shy; decent; becoming; chaste; virtuous.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A modest house or other building is not large or expensive. ...the modest home of a family who lived off the land... A one-night stay in a modest hotel costs around £35. ADJ 2. You use modest to describe something such as an amount, rate, or improvement which is fairly small. Swiss unemployment rose to the still modest rate of 0.7%... The democratic reforms have been modest... ADJ • modestly Britain's balance of payments improved modestly last month. ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/-ed/adv 3. If you say that someone is modest, you approve of them because they do not talk much about their abilities or achievements. He's modest, as well as being a great player... ADJ [approval] • modestly 'You really must be very good at what you do.'—'I suppose I am,' Kate said modestly. ADV: ADV with v 4. You can describe a woman as modest when she avoids doing or wearing anything that might cause men to have sexual feelings towards her. You can also describe her clothes or behaviour as modest. Asian women are more modest and shy, yet they tend to have an inner force... ADJ • modestly She sat down cautiously on the red canvas cushions, knees modestly together. ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj/adv

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Unpretending, unobtrusive, unassuming, retiring, unostentatious. 2. Chaste, pure, virtuous. 3. Moderate, decent, becoming, proper.

Moby Thesaurus

Olympian, aloof, altruistic, backward, bashful, becoming, betwixt and between, blank, boggling, budget, cheap, chilled, chilly, clean, cold, committed, common, consecrated, constrained, cool, coy, decent, decorous, dedicated, delicate, demeaning, demure, demurring, detached, devoted, diffident, disadvantaged, discreet, disinterested, distant, dry, dull, easy, economic, economy, elegant, expressionless, fair, fair to middling, fairish, faltering, forbidding, frigid, frosty, frugal, guarded, hesitant, hesitating, homely, humble, humble-looking, humble-visaged, humblest, icy, immaculate, impassive, impersonal, in the shade, inaccessible, inconspicuous, indifferent, inexpensive, inferior, infra dig, inglorious, innocuous, insipid, introverted, junior, lackluster, least, less, lesser, limited, low, low-priced, lower, lowest, lowliest, lowly, manageable, mean, mediocre, medium, meek, middling, minor, moderate, namby-pamby, nice, nominal, of a kind, of a sort, of sorts, offish, ordinary, passable, plain, poor, priggish, prim, prissy, proper, prudish, pure, puritanical, qualmish, reasonable, reluctant, remote, removed, repressed, reserved, respectable, restrained, restricted, reticent, retiring, sacrificing, scrupulous, second rank, second string, secondary, seemly, self-abasing, self-abnegating, self-abnegatory, self-conscious, self-denying, self-devoted, self-effacing, self-forgetful, self-immolating, self-neglectful, self-neglecting, self-renouncing, self-sacrificing, self-unconscious, selfless, sensible, servile, shabby, shoddy, shrinking, shy, silent, simple, small, so-so, spotless, squeamish, stainless, standoff, standoffish, stickling, straitlaced, stuffy, sub, subaltern, subdued, subject, subordinate, subservient, suppressed, teachable, tedious, temperate, third rank, third string, timid, timorous, token, tolerable, unacquisitive, unaffable, unambitious, unapproachable, unaspiring, unassertive, unassuming, unassured, unblemished, unboastful, uncongenial, undefiled, undemonstrative, underprivileged, understated, undistinguished, unelaborate, unembellished, unexaggerated, unexceptional, unexpansive, unexpensive, ungenial, unimportant, unimposing, unobtrusive, unornamented, unostentatious, unpossessive, unpresuming, unpresumptuous, unpretending, unpretentious, unselfish, unsparing of self, unsullied, vapid, vulgar, wishy-washy, withdrawing, withdrawn, within means, worth the money