Meaning & use
humbled
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“humbled” is a form of “humble”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectiveafter a verb
Feeling modest and a little overwhelmed, usually because of praise, kindness or a reminder that you are not as important as you thought.
Grammar: Used after be or feel and often followed by by: I'm humbled by your support.
Patterns
- humbled by something
- feel humbled
I'm humbled by how many people came to the funeral.
She felt humbled after meeting the families who had lost everything.
The champion said he was humbled by the crowd's generosity.
adjectiveafter a verb
Made to feel less proud or powerful after a failure or defeat.
Grammar: Often follows a verb of defeat: left humbled, was humbled.
Patterns
- humbled by defeat
- left humbled
The team left the field humbled after a ten-goal loss.
A humbled mayor admitted that he had underestimated the problem.
He came home humbled by the failure of his first business.
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of humble: to make someone feel less proud or more modest.
Grammar: Takes an object: the loss humbled them.
Patterns
- humble someone
- humbled by something
The stormy crossing humbled the experienced sailors.
Her kindness humbled him.
Being fired had humbled her more than any lecture.
Common combinations
- humbled by
- I was humbled by the kind messages.
- feel humbled
- They feel humbled to be chosen.
- deeply humbled
- The author was deeply humbled by the award.
- humbled and grateful
- I am humbled and grateful for your help.
- left humbled
- The defeat left the champions humbled.
Synonyms and how they differ
- modest
- Modest describes a general trait of not boasting, while humbled describes a feeling caused by something that just happened.
- chastened
- Chastened suggests being corrected or scolded, which is more negative than humbled.
- honored
- Honored is only positive, while humbled mixes pride with a sense of being small.
- deflated
- Deflated suggests loss of confidence or energy, whereas humbled can feel positive.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: humbled or humiliated? humbled or humbling?
humbled vs humiliated
Humiliated means made to feel ashamed in front of others, which is much stronger and more painful than humbled.
humbled vs humbling
Humbling describes the experience that causes the feeling; humbled describes the person who feels it.
Practice
After the surprise award, she said she felt ___ by the support of her colleagues.
Choose one answer.
Humbled by describes feeling modest and moved. Humiliated means shamed, embarrassing is the wrong form for a person's feeling, and humbling describes the experience, not the person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “humbled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.