modesty

modesty
I
(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
Timidity
Nouns — modesty; humility; diffidence, timidity, bashfulness; shyness, unobtrusiveness; shame; reserve, constraint; demureness.
Verbs
1. be modest, retire, give way to, retire into one's shell, keep in the background, keep one's distance, hide one's light under a bushel; not dare to show one's face.
2. hide one's face, hang one's head, eat humble pie; blush, redden, change color; feel small. Informal, eat crow, draw in one's horns.
Adjectives — modest, diffident, humble, timid, timorous, bashful, shy, nervous; coy; sheepish, shamefaced, blushing; overmodest, unpretentious, unobtrusive, unassuming, unaspiring, reserved, demure, self-effacing, decent; common as an old shoe.
Adverbs — modestly, humbly, meekly; quietly, privately; without ceremony; with downcast eyes, on bended knee.
Quotations — Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise (Shakespeare), It is difficult for a rich person to be modest, or a modest person rich (Epictetus), [Of Clement Attlee: ] A modest man who has a good deal to be modest about (Winston Churchill), I have often wished I had time to cultivate modesty... But I am too busy thinking about myself (Edith Sitwell).
Antonyms, see vanity.
II
(Roget's IV) n.
1. [The state of being modest]
Syn. humility, unpretentiousness, unassumingness, delicacy, unostentatiousness, reticence, reserve, constraint, unobtrusiveness, self-effacement, meekness; see also courtesy 1 , dignity 1 , restraint 1 .
Ant. vanity*, conceit, egotism*.
2. [Shyness]
Syn. inhibition, timidity, diffidence; see shyness .
3. [Chastity]
Syn. decency, innocence, seemliness, celibacy; see chastity , purity 1 , virtue 1 .
III
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.
1. humility humbleness, unpretentiousness, moderation, reserve, reticence, shyness, bashfulness, simplicity, plainness. The only sure bait when you angle for praise.''—Lord Chesterfield. Meekness and wisdom combined.''—Solomon Ibn Gabirol. An index to nobility.''—Solomon Ibn Gabirol.
2. decency decorum, propriety, seemliness.
ANT.: 1. arrogance, pretentiousness, vanity. 2. indecency, unseemliness
IV
(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun 1. Lack of vanity or self-importance: humbleness, humility, lowliness, meekness. See ATTITUDE, BIG, SELF-LOVE. 2. Reserve in speech, behavior, or dress: demureness, diffidence, reticence, self-effacement. See RESTRAINT. 3. The condition of being chaste: chastity, decency, innocence, purity, virginity, virtue, vir-tuousness. See GOOD, RESTRAINT, SEX. 4. Lack of ostentation or pretension: plainness, simpleness, simplicity, unassumingness, unostentatiousness, unpretentiousness. See PLAIN.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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  • Modesty — Mod es*ty, n. [L. modestia: cf. F. modestie. See {Modest}.] 1. The quality or state of being modest; that lowly temper which accompanies a moderate estimate of one s own worth and importance; absence of self assertion, arrogance, and presumption; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • modesty — (n.) 1530s, freedom from exaggeration, self control, from M.Fr. modestie or directly from L. modestia moderation, sense of honor, correctness of conduct, from modestus moderate, keeping measure, sober, gentle, temperate, from modus measure,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Modesty — Modesty, est une chanteuse française. Biographie Discographie 1980, On n aime toujours le même 1980, So sweet is my love 1980, Boogie encore 1983, Historia 1984, Crime d amour 1985, Le chien extraordinaire Sources [1] Catégorie : Chanteuse… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • modesty — index decorum, propriety (correctness) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • modesty — [n] shyness bashfulness, celibacy, chastity, constraint, coyness, decency, delicacy, demureness, diffidence, discreetness, humbleness, humility, inhibition, innocence, lack of pretension, meekness, propriety, prudery, purity, quietness, reserve,… …   New thesaurus

  • modesty — ► NOUN ▪ the quality or state of being modest …   English terms dictionary

  • modesty — [mäd′is tē] n. [Fr modestie < L modestia] the quality or state of being modest; specif., a) unassuming or humble behavior b) lack of excesses or pretensions; moderation c) decency; decorum …   English World dictionary

  • Modesty — For other uses, see Modest (disambiguation). Man and woman in swimsuits, ca. 1910; she is exiting a bathing machine …   Wikipedia

  • modesty — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ characteristic, natural (esp. BrE), typical ▪ She accepted their congratulations with typical modesty. ▪ false ▪ feminine …   Collocations dictionary

  • modesty — n. 1) to affect; display modesty 2) false modesty (without false modesty) 3) modesty about * * * [ mɒdɪstɪ] display modesty to affect modesty about false modesty (without false modesty) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • modesty — [[t]mɒ̱dɪsti[/t]] 1) N UNCOUNT (approval) Someone who shows modesty does not talk much about their abilities or achievements. His modesty does him credit, for the food he produces speaks for itself... He plays the character with tremendous… …   English dictionary

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