'Modest' definitions:
Definition of 'modest'
(from WordNet)
adjective
Marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself; "a modest apartment"; "too modest to wear his medals" [ant: immodest]
adjective
Not large but sufficient in size or amount; "a modest salary"; "modest inflation"; "helped in my own small way" [syn: modest, small]
adjective
Free from pomp or affectation; "comfortable but modest cottages"; "a simple rectangular brick building"; "a simple man with simple tastes"
adjective
Not offensive to sexual mores in conduct or appearance [ant: immodest]
adjective
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]
adjective
Humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness; "meek and self-effacing" [syn: meek, mild, modest]
adjective
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]
Definition of 'Modest'
From: GCIDE
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- Mrs. Ford, the honest woman, the modest wife. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- The blushing beauties of a modest maid. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Evincing modestly in the actor, author, or speaker; not showing presumption; not excessive or extreme; moderate; as, a modest request; modest joy. [1913 Webster]
- Syn: Reserved; unobtrusive; diffident; bashful; coy; shy; decent; becoming; chaste; virtuous. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'modest'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- 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,
- Olympian,
- 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